


World-Wide Happiness

by Enigmatree



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Adorable Sasagawa Kyoko, Adorable Sawada Tsunayoshi, Author supports BAMF Tsuna/Kyoko Friendship, Contest/Race to Gather Guardians, Cuteness conquers the world, Gen, Kyoko is a Sky, Kyoko/Tsuna friendship, Mafia Seduction Is Second-Rate, Mafia doesn't know what hit them, Moe Seduction, Neither does the world, The Hearth-Warming Tale of Controlling the World From The Shadows, Tsuna is Not Dame, Until They get the light as well of course, cute!Tsuna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-08-17 06:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8132984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigmatree/pseuds/Enigmatree
Summary: Kyoko won't allow sadness. She does not approve.Tsuna hadn't known the usefulness of Cute. Much stronger than giant robots.Watch as they join forces in a dream to make everyone happy that will take the world (Namimori, the Mafia and the rest along the way) by storm. A storm of pastel colors and glitter and rainbows.Nana hadn't known when she unexpectedly took her son to the park that it would be the start of his siblinghood with Kyoko and their conquest of the world.





	1. Cute 101

**Author's Note:**

> I... don't know... Just... Just read please...  
> Also, second chap almost written.

In one world, Sawada Nana would have been too sick to take her son to the park that day. In one world, she wouldn’t have run into her long-time friend, Sasagawa Masaki, and their children wouldn’t have met. In one world, by the time Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sasagawa Kyoko met, Kyoko would have long grown out of her childish ambition.

That is, her childish ambition to make the entire world a happy place for all living beings.

But this isn’t that world.

In this world, Sawada Nana was over her cold one day earlier so she took her five-year-old son out to play. This small coincidence was the kindle for both a beautiful friendship and a partnership for the shared ambition that would one day change the world.

One should never take the underappreciated butterfly effect lightly after all.

 

* * *

 

5 years old Tsu-kun dragged his new friend to the safety of his room upstairs. The fact that they had only met that day wouldn’t make him leave her alone with the two enthusiastic mothers in the kitchen. He wouldn’t have wished _that_ on anyone. Not even the meanie Osamu who wouldn’t let him play.

"Thanks, Tsuna-kun! You really saved me!" She exclaimed as he closed the door behind him.

Tsuna nodded giddily, happy to have found a kindred spirit. His new friend, Kyoko-chan, was an incredible find, she looked like him, she acted like him, they even had the same problems!

"When Kaa-chan brings out the dresses you have to run." The brunet explained wisely to his friend. How he hated being cute! If he was manly like his father apparently was, Kaa-chan wouldn't play dress-up with him!

"I know! When mama starts making my hair, it will always hurt for days!" The little girl complained. The brunet blinked, confused. Her mother also played dress up?

Maybe it didn't have anything to do with manliness? Since Kyoko-chan was a girl, obviously her mother didn't expect her to be a man... Maybe this happened to everyone... Oh no, how would he escape the torture then?!

Tsuna held back the panic and tried to distract himself with something else. Then he suddenly noticed some toys.

"Hey, do you want to play something?" And thus, the attention span of the five years old ended.

"Sure!" Kyoko agreed, easily keeping up with the changing subjects. They absently spent time with the blocks and dolls until a bout of loud but muffled giggles returned them to their previous discussion.

"They're not... coming here are they?..." The little girl asked somewhat afraid. Tsuna inclined his head slightly before seemingly deciding on something.

"It... It would be good if they came..." He answered.

"Huh?" She replied, everything from her tone to her eyes screamed 'betrayed'.

"Kaa-chan was very sad this week. She always becomes happier when we play. She says that she likes making Tsu-kun cute." Tsuna explained.

They fell into a short silence as the amber haired girl had a thoughtful expression on her face. Then all of a sudden her features brightened up as if she had understood something.

"So that’s why! Onii-chan is always happy when he says I did a cute thing! Cuteness makes people happy!" The girl gushed out excitedly.

Tsuna also smiled an excited grin, that made so much sense! He remembered how everyone would smile at what he had thought was a joke he didn’t hear and when the brunet asked they would always answer that he was cute. He had never guessed it before!

"That's true! It happened to Tsu-kun too! Cute makes everyone smile!” The boy gushed right back, Kyoko nodding enthusiastically all the way.

“We can make everyone happy this way!" Kyoko declared seriously, “It’s my dream. I’m going to make the all world happy!”

“Really? That’s so much better than becoming a robot! I’ll help!” Tsuna decided.

They delved into another bout of silence as they went over their making-people-happy-with-cuteness memories. That, though, created another problem.

"How do we be cute, Tsuna-kun? Do we just stand there?" The girl asked inquisitively.

"Umm..." The brunet tilted his head, "Tsu-kun doesn't know..." He answered, momentarily forgetting his self-address in thought.

"We can research though! Like the ones in TV! We'll try everything and see which ones make people smile!" He quickly added on with a smile, the TV had said 'Not knowing is okay, not learning is bad' (in his words) so they just had to not give up!

"Okay! Then we'll tell each other and learn how to be cute! I can even ask mama!" His friend proposed.

After that, for about an hour, they talked on and on about the key to world-wide happiness (cuteness) and even managed to create a schedule until they were forced to separate by their mothers.

By the way, this only helped to steel Nana's resolve to let her little Tsu-kun and the lovely daughter of Masaki-chan meet more often. They were so adorable together too!

And thus, this day marked the fated beginning of Tsuna's sibling-hood with Kyoko (and the steady rise of 'Moe Seduction' in the Ranking Book to first place, far above 'Mafia Seduction' and with 'Reborn Seduction' right under it).

 

* * *

 

Far away in Italy, a baby in a suit sneezed even as he felt a wave of trepidation go up his small spine. Why did he feel like seducing random women all of a sudden?

In response to his illogical wishes, he shot at his useless student Dino double time that day.

 

* * *

 

'Day one, the perfect smile ' Tsuna thought proudly, he had been learning to count and he was certain he could master cuteness before he counted to his limit, which was, by the way, currently 15.

  1. Attempt



Tsuna looked at his mother. Then he looked. And he looked some more.

His mother stopped mixing the soup and looked back at him.

"Is there somethー"

Tsuna smiled at her warmly.

"ーing you need..."

She faltered but didn't smile or blush.

Not this smile then.

  1. Attempt 



Tsuna was playing in his room when his mother entered.

He turned his head slightly with the toys still in hand and he smiled a shy smile.

Complete with slightly fluttering eyelashes, tilted head and little blush, it was exactly like he learned from his mother's soap-opera.

His mother stilled, and gasped. Then she smiled sweetly andー

"OH MY GOD! Tsu-kun is sooo adorable!!" Hugged the life out of him.

Tsu-kun received that day, a grim reminder. The sombre lesson that shy smiles, especially around energetic young women, were a powerful double-edged weapon only to be used at extreme discretion.

Well, it could still be useful...

  1. Attempt



He was watching a cartoon when an unexpected twist to it happened.

So he smiled when the villain unexpectedly seemed to be winning. Only because he was feeling particularly content that day. Obviously.

He wasn't at all excited when the heroes got imprisoned. He also wasn't happy that the situation was seemingly insolvable.

It wasn't his fault that the bad guy always lost and that it was pleasant surprise to have him win. (Although, he lost the very next episode. Damn you, random anti-hero!)

He also couldn't help that his smile was more of a grin and that it looked just a smudge too evil.

Still, the attempt was scrapped when his mother left the room in a way that perfectly embodied the term 'creeped out'.

He would have to learn how to enjoy himself without scaring people away.

  1. Attempt 



His mother was putting the dishes on the table when he noticed that it was curry.

He was happy enough to feel the need of thanking her. That, and he really wanted to test a recent thought of his.

"Kaa-chan you made curry for me?" He asked.

His mother turned towards him as she put the pot down.

"Kaa-chan," he paused for dramatic effect,

And he smiled warmly (see. Attempt 1) "Thank You"

He also put every ounce of feeling he could into his voice. Everyone knew that love made it warmer.

It went completely different this time, even if the smile was the same.

His mother blushed and gaped at him before giving a huge grin.

Huh, so the appropriate words made cuteness more powerful... He would look into that.

  1. Attempt



Actually, this wasn't even an attempt. At first.

He was out with his mother when he was told to stay put and the woman rushed inside a shop.

Fifteen minutes later, his mother was giving him the stuffed lion she bought.

Apparently, since he was 'such a polite gratuitous young man' he deserved a present.

And such a lovely present it was. The fluffy orange lion was absolutely beautiful. He would make lions his favourite animal in its honour.

Anyway, he was inspecting his present, then he realized that this was the best opportunity for an attempt.

So he used the last one he had on his list, he smiled dazzlingly.

His mother stilled.

Then blushed.

Finally, she smiled back to him.

She was skipping the whole day after that.

Well, he thought, this must be success. Now to perfect the perfect smile!

 

* * *

 

Tsuna annoyed his mother to take him to meet his partner in cuteness for a whole week. After all, they were already behind schedule and needed to talk about their findings on the perfect smile.

After another day of pestering, Nana finally gave in and cancelled her book club to take her son to the Sasagawas. (It was then that she realized how little free time she had. How often had she spent time with her Tsu-kun? Not much, she guessed)

That day was a glorious day for both kids. They had both decided on a smile; Tsuna, the dazzling smile from his smiles and Kyoko, serene smile from hers. (Which also included grin, mischievous smile, smile-with-wink and wild, free smile)

They talked about their other findings, too. Kyoko taught him how to position his head for best effect and Tsuna told her about the actions to multiply cuteness. He also explained her the 'Scrapped Attempt'.

They decided to never use evil smiles and to cover those up with their happier counterparts.

Just as she had said she would, Kyoko had asked her mother about other cute stuff and Mrs. Sasagawa took it upon herself to teach them about cute clothing. Yes, this involved skirts.

Too fast the time passed and it was dinner. Kyoko and Tsuna were taken to the kitchen by her mother. As they climbed on the chairs, the boy tried once again to adjust his very, very long light orange blouse. Although it was comfortably soft, he was too used to t-shirts while this one's sleeves covered even half of his hands and he still didn't understand why this was considered cute.

After that, it was time to leave. The day had been very fruitful, they discussed, rescheduled, combined research and even decided on their signature smile blends (As strange as that sounds): warm and serene for Kyoko, free and dazzling for Tsuna.

That night, he could go to sleep with the promise of waking up to further his-no, their– goal of world-wide happiness tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

Half a month after their 'perfect smile meeting', they had already learned quite a lot about cuteness. They had worked on clothes, gestures, ways of using it on people and even magnifying it with animals and places.

Of course, they were still far away from mastery; Kyoko was having problems with fashion and Tsuna just couldn't get along with that one Chihuahua. But they were progressing.

As things stood, Tsuna's current problem was not cuteness, it was his best-friend's new friend. Now, don't get him wrong, he was not jealous of this new friend. Oh no, he was jealous of Kyoko-chan.

The new friend, Hana-chan, perfectly complimented their fragile innocent adorableness (or at least the image of it that they created) with her strong will and deadly tongue. But of course, she was Kyoko's, even the thought of taking her away made him sick to his stomach. Sharing friends, for some reason, just didn't sit right between them.

So, he decided to do the next best thing he could do. He would find his own Hana-chan...

...somewhere. Hopefully...


	2. Carnivorous Conquest

Kyouya put together another 1000-piece puzzle and sighed.

Too easy.

The other five year olds played their stupid games but he didn't join them. They flocked mindlessly together and stayed close to each other. They were annoying, loud, dirty and worst of all, they stuck to you like gum under your shoe.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to go outside, to explore. He didn't like being locked inside this stupid 'day-care'. Alas, his father had explained, his parents were both working and couldn't let him be alone.

Kyouya brightened all of a sudden. What had his father said about it? He was certain there was a way to be free! He thought back to the previous night where Tou-san told him that he would go to the day-care.

 

* * *

 

A black-haired little kid sat at the table with his parents. They were eating dinner in a cheerful atmosphere and laughing and talking.

The boy was also obviously happy. He had been trying not to laugh too much ever since his father's friend had made a comment about 'real man' but it wasn't really working with the way his mother made jokes one after another. So he ate another meatball to stifle his laughter, only to realize that that was the last one.

Tsukiko, realizing his son’s predicament, let out another peal of laughter.

"Do you want some more, my little carnivore?" She asked.

Kyouya nodded pleased. He had learned it yesterday, carnivores were all strong and cool. So that meant that he had to be a carnivore.

That was when, Mr. Hibari, aka Kyoshi, decided to give the news. His wife had finally found a work after months of searching and his son would have no one to look after him during the day, so they went with the last option; day-care.

"Kyouya, tomorrow we will take you to the day-care." Hibari men did not beat around the bush.

"What's 'Day-care'?" The boy asked shortly. Tsukiko sighed, like father like son.

"Your mother now also has a job and can't stay with you. That's why during the day, you will stay at the day-care." His father answered. Unexpectedly, Kyouya nodded happily before stopping to ask something.

"Can I explore the town in the 'day-care'?" This made Kyoshi sigh, his son didn't understand after all.

"Look, Kyouya. We talked about this. You can't go around alone, it's dangerous. Besideー”

"But mom said I'm a carnivore! So I'm strong! I can protect myself!" Kyouya countered illogically. Kyoshi sighed again as he looked towards his lovely wife for help. She was still eating. Right, so no help.

Then suddenly a metaphorical light bulb lighted up on his head.

"You see, Kyouya, since you're a carnivore," he held back a chuckle at the sudden rapt attention he got from his son, "you have to have a territory. Everywhere outside that territory is dangerous. This house is my and your mother’s territory, so you have to listen to is here. Luckily, we're your parents so it's fine."

"How do I get a territory?" This time the man did chuckle, the stars in those eyes were too much.

"Remember the crowds you hate so much? They are herds. Since those kids are afraid of small things like spiders and bugs, they are herbivores. But you aren't afraid are you?"

That got him a loud "No!" and rapid head shaking.

"Good. So you're a carnivore. That means that you have to protect the herds in your territory and make sure they obey the rules. Then, your territory will be safe. If you make all of the day-care your territory, you will be free there. And then you can continue growing it. One day, you'll have the whole town! You can explore it as you want that day!"

Kyouya looked amazed. He felt amazed too. He could be the carnivore of the town! His father believed in him! Since his parents had only this house as a territory, when Kyouya became the carnivore of the town, he would protect them too! Not that they were herbivores or anything. After all, only carnivores can have carnivore babies.

The boy nodded vigorously. He wouldn't let his parents down.

As expected, his father was right. The other kids were all flocking together in great herds, trusting the adult in the room to protect them. Even from themselves.

'Disgusting.' He thought. Truly, the first rule he would put when he gained his territory was 'No Crowding'.

'Still,' he decided, teeth bared in a ferocious smile, 'they are herbivores. And they will become my herbivores.'

Better than playing with low-level puzzles at least.

 

* * *

 

"Kyoya, honey, you're not bullied are you?" Tsukiko asked in concern. Just like more than half the kids in the small day-care centre, her son also wore bruises.

"No, Kaa-chan, I'm not. Carnivores don't get bullied." His son replied. She would press further, but she knew that the bruises from a week ago had been much much worse. So maybe Kyouya was learning how to deal with the bullies.

She would not willingly embarrass her son then. But really, maybe she should still put her son into another day-care. After all, the widespread bullying was making all the parents worried.

At first, they had all thought that the workers were abusing their children. However, the workers had gone out with them for an hour when asked about the bruises. The first thing the parents realized when they returned was that three more children ported wounds. Obviously, it had happened between them.

Honestly, it was all very weird. Not even the whiniest children used to ‘begging mama for help on everything’ would utter a single word on the perpetuator. And of course, Kyouya wouldn't either.

He was said perpetuator after all. Not that his mother needed to know.

His herd of herbivores knew not to talk about him and he wasn't about to do it himself. He had worked hard for their loyalty and silence. At first he had just put them all to their place and made them obey.

It had been difficult. He might have had exceptional strength from birth but his fighting knowledge had been zero. Bruises were acquired for every rule breaking kid. Still, he was coming along well enough; he got less wounds every time and the whole class listened to him after he took the worker's place of protecting them.

With just violence, the herbivores had tried to go around or, for the braver of the kids, against his rules. Only when, during a park visit, he got a huge spider from the scared popular herbivore's head and crushed it did they start actually listening.

This obedience only intensified when a shy female herbivore, with all the courage of a mouse, asked him for help that the nursery teacher would not provide. Her step-father, no, the man who lived with her mother, was apparently beating her and her mother. The useless teacher had done nothing when told.

He saw red. How dare that man hurt his herd?! Who did he think he was?!

But he stopped himself from rushing to beat him in return when the girl held his sleeve and begged him not let the man do it again. She was crying.

He couldn't win against a grown man. Not yet. Trying it would make it only worse. So until he could beat the man so hard that he would run all the way to another country, he decided to use the herbivores he had the loyalties of.

The moment the worker left, he called the class around him. Luckily, except for a few unsure stragglers, all thirty of the kids fast gathered around him in a circle. The shy herbivore looked down with a flush throughout her tale as the other herbivores got angrier and angrier.

At the end of the explanation, even the few stragglers were looking towards him on what they would do. So Kyouya gave them the plan. The shy herbivore would stay with one them for every two or three nights then change houses. The herbivore's mother had allowed. Maybe there was some hope for her. During that, Kyouya would train like hell and maybe find some weapons too. They would save the shy herbivore.

And they did so. Kyouya trained with his uncle Fon who was visiting them with impeccable timing. A baby though he was, Fon was a carnivore through and through. The boy also trained with his new tonfas, stolen for him by an herbivore with a police officer father.

During his one-month training, the shy herbivore went to the houses of almost every other herbivore. But never once did she step 'home'.

Finally, the day after Fon went home, Kyouya was stalking the shy herbivore and her 'father' with three more herbivores. Not that they would help with the beating part. They were needed for a much bigger plan.

That's right. Hibari Kyouya, five years old extra-ordinaire had planned this perfectly. At least one kid had been behind the man for up to five hours a day with a camera to take the picture of the man’s misdeeds. Since he could even beat his baby step-daughter, he would definitely commit crimes.

They had been right. The man was yakuza. He stole, broke, beat people and animals. A bad guy to the roots.

So after Kyouya beat the man, they would send him to a rival yakuza gang, tied and hopefully unconscious before the police got the pictures of his misdeeds. Perfectly planned.

Except... It didn't go as planned. Sure, it was perfect until they stayed to see what the yakuza would do with the man, tied and gagged and unconscious, right in front of their door.

Then, two grunts of the group found the man and the four kids strained to hear the conversation from their hiding place.

_"Well, well. What do you know? Someone did our jobs for us."_

_"How lucky that someone went as far as to deposit our targets corpse to our front door, eh?"_

_"Sure he's dead?"_

_"Stupid! The guy's dead through and through! Can't ya see his throat's crushed?"_

Kyouya froze. Dead? The man wasn't unconscious? Sure they didn't know how to check and he had been very angry and the man seemed a little cold to the touch but... Dead?

He could feel the three herbivores tense beside him as they tried to understand the weight of what they had done. Murder... Would they, Kyouya wondered, would they all go to prison?

But the yakuza would take the blame. And the man was a horrible, horrible man. He deserved it. Something twisted inside him, he felt sick. He shouldn't have killed, right?

That night he went to sleep for the feared day to arrive. He would tell the shy herbivore that he had killed her father. It was his fault after all, not the other herbivores'. He saw nightmares the whole night.

The next day, the moment the workers were out if earshot, Kyouya gathered his herd around. He noted that the three herbivores were standing a little further away. That something twisted harder.

"Shy herbivore," he began, everyone instantly knowing who he was talking to, "you're safe now. I... killed your father."

There was collective gasping all around as some blanched. Their faces contorted in some hurt, some anger and betrayal and it seemed to Kyoya as if his herd would leave him until...

There was a small sniffle. A soft mutter and two more sniffles later, the boy got a handful of shy herbivore crying in relief and thanking him.

His herd relaxed and some even smiled. Everyone patted either him or the herbivore.

That something twisted relaxed and gave away. It was fine. He no longer felt sick.

After that, the shy herbivore told them that she had explained their plan to her mother while Kyouya was beating her 'father' outside. Apparently, her mother had hoped that the yakuza would kill the man or he would be let out of prison even with all the evidence against him. Such was the way of the yakuza.

After this incident, the 'bullying' stopped as well as any disobedience of Kyouya's rules. The parents were all obliviously happy for the 'tight bonds of the day-care’s kids'. Though the shy herbivore's mother threw him a wink now and then.

That night, Kyouya announced that the day-care centre was now his territory to his parents.

That got him the remark of; "Do the teachers listen to you?"

Damn it.

 

* * *

 

It took him two weeks of showing off his tonfas, extending his rules to adults and not allowing insubordination to make them part of his herd. Adult or not, if they obeyed, they were under his protection. (Every last kid in the day-care being under his unconditional rule also helped convince the teachers)

The day-care was now his territory.

Still, just so he could convince his father, he spent another week persuading the prideful adults to call him 'Hibari-san". Herbivore-with-the-police-father's idea, not his.

It was immensely satisfying to see the un-ruffle-able Kyoshi gape during the morning greeting by the kids and the respectful "Hibari-san."s by the teachers.

He was acknowledged by his carnivore father. It made pride swell up inside Kyoya.

 

* * *

 

But he wasn’t one in the end, when it mattered.

Kyouya was wrong, his father wasn't a carnivore at all.

He had a harsh run in with the truth when some random grunts from a small time Yakuza barged inside their home demanding money.

Inside their home. _Inside his parents’ territory._

Kyouya had honestly been expecting his father to beat them or his mother to attack or something.

It hadn’t happened.

“Where is our money, huh, Kyoshi-san?” Random grunt A asked.

“Yeah, we gave you that loan trusting it to be returned. You’re making us lose quite a lot of money waiting, you are going to pay that as well, right?” Random grunt B continued.

“W-well, you see…” Kyouya couldn’t have heard that. He couldn’t.

Hadn’t it been his father who said that the Hibaris came from the ancient warlords? That they were strong? That they were never scared?

Yet, Hibari Kyoshi, the Head of the supposedly unbeatable Hibari Clan (consisting of three people), stuttered. _Stuttered._

Because of two Herbivores that Kyouya could have beaten eyes closed.

“Tou-san… What are you doing? Aren’t you going to tell those Herbivores to beat it off?” He asked, just to be sure. Sure that his father wasn’t some Herbivore food, some grass.

“’Herbivores!’ I like this kid. He yours, Kyoshi-san? I bet he would fetch a nice price.” Grunt B laughed.

“N-no! God, Kyouya, just keep quiet.” Tou-san hissed. Then, Kyouya felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Kaa-chan.

“Honey, there are times when even carnivores need to back down.” She muttered to the boy.

No. _No._

He would not back down. What did they know about being one when his parents weren’t carnivores? Uncle Fon and Kyouya were the only carnivores in the family.

That was… okay. Disappointing, but okay. He could make them his herd, protect them.

Then, Kyouya dashed. He would protect his herbivores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, no Tsu-kun or Kyo-chan this time... But we get the ever carnivorous Kyo-kun!  
> Also, god knows why I always give the second chapters of my fics to him. It almost feels like a predetermined sacrifice or something. And here I pledge to give the second chapter of my next fic to another character. So mote it be.  
> XD  
> Also also, meetings next chap.  
> Also (x3), this chap does not pass as a Kyouya making recipe using naught but a single random child. Speaking from experience. ;P


	3. Covered, Cloudy (Sky)

Kyouya meticulously cleaned his beloved tonfas on the rags that were once the Random Grunts™ ‘s clothes. He then appreciated his work, the two bodies bloody on the floor, and got up to call some of his Herbivores to help.

Putting the blame on the Yakuza and so on.

“There.” He announced to his parents, “Now you don’t have to bow to some herbivores.”

But apparently they didn’t agree.

“K-K-Kyouya…” Tou-san stuttered again, and was that getting old or what, before falling back into silence.

“Oh my GOD! What have you done? What have you done? T-The ambulance, NO, the police! We have to… We have to do something!” Kaa-chan, however, didn’t even have the decency to go in shock before her full blown hysterics, “Kyouya, Kyouya… You are alright? Please tell me you didn’t kill them. No, my baby can’t go to prison this young, please say you didn’t…”

“Kaa-chan… It’s fine. I won’t go to prison.” He tried to assure her, “The Herbivores will help me blame the Yakuza.”

“The… Herbivores?” Asked Tou-san. _Which Herbivores?_ Poor Kyoshi…

“Hn. The Herbivores.” Then Kyouya happily walked up to the house phone and rapidly pressed some buttons, waiting until the dial tone and a click was heard.

_“Moshi moshi. Suzumori Hanako here.”_

“Shy Herbivore’s mother.” Kyouya acknowledged.

_“...Hibari-san?”_

“Hn. I have two herbivores like your ex-herbivore here. Call some of my Herbivores to drag them away.” He explained briefly, trusting the woman to both understand and help.

_“WHAT? G-got it.”_

Kyouya, objective accomplished, closed the phone.

 

* * *

 

“Tsu-kun, Tsu-kun! Braid my hair?” A high-pitched voice asked cheerily.

“Sure, Kyo-chan!” Agreed an equally high-pitched voice. “Wow… I really love your hair colour, it’s such a beautiful ginger. Or honey, orange… caramel… chocolate… ermm… What colour _is_ that?” He hissed before continuing, “Did you get that?”

“Yep, I did. And your eyes are a very pretty ginger-honey-orange-caramel-chocolate just like my hair!” Came the giggling answer.

She couldn’t help it, Hana snorted into her juice.

“You can just say it if you’re hungry, monkey.” She teased. The brunet pouted as he combed through long ging–complicated hair.

“I’m not hungry.” He sulked. “You can’t make fun of me just because I’m not your _friend_ Hana-chan!”

“And why ever are you not my friend?” She asked, resigned to the special brand of crazy that were the Kyo-Tsu duo.

“What are you talking about? Of course we are friends! You’re just not my _friend_!” Tsuna explained (or he thought he did) before making an enraged sound at Kyoko’s head-nodding, “Kyoko, don’t mo _oove_ … Anyways, you’re Kyo-chan’s Hana-chan, so I’m looking for mine.”

“You’re looking… for a ‘Hana-chan’(?) of your own…” Hana repeated, making sure to add as much of her (first-rate) scepticism as possible. Just in case the monkey didn’t get it.

She then proceeded to wait in expectation for the denial? Explanation, if she was lucky? Anger, perhaps? But…

“Yep, yep! I knew you would understand.” He nodded in approval. Hana looked for one second, then another, before slowly and politely going and bashing her beloved head on the conveniently nearby wall.

She had forgotten how alike Tsuna and Kyoko were.

 

* * *

 

The next weeks were, as far as the (self-proclaimed) carnivore was concerned, quite tense. He was, after all, only just learning that herbivores tended to be unpredictable at best, useless and ungrateful at worst.

“Where were you, Kyouya? I waited three hours in the day-care!”

“I was extending my territory.”

“I-I see…”

_(Murder again?)_

“K-Kyouya… This blood… You aren’t killing anymore… right?”

“Hn?”

“No, n-never mind…”

_(I don’t want to know)_

“Kaa-chan.”

A flinch.

“Yes?..”

“…forget it.”

“Please tell me, Kyouya, I’m curious now?”

_(My son is a monster. But this monster is my beloved son.)_

“Shy Herbivore.”

“Hi-Hibari-san… Maybe you shouldn’t f-fight anymore?”

“Why?”

“K-killing is b-bad!”

_(Isn’t it?)_

Yes, Kyouya decided, Herbivores might be completely useless and may not appreciate what was done for them, but they were his Herd anyway. Even if they didn’t want to be. How convenient it was, to take what they needed and then try to run.

_(And Kyouya really loved to fight. The adrenalin, the burn, the satisfaction; if he couldn’t really stop himself on that one specific blow… Well, he was protecting his territory)_

Really, ungrateful herbivores.

 

* * *

 

“Hello.”

Kyouya blinked at the weird herbivore standing giddily in the middle of corpses. The small cute herbivore tilted his head and, oblivious to all the blood splashing, jumped over some random Yakuza to get near him.

Kyouya narrowed his eyes. Wasn’t this herbivore… disturbed? Creeped out? What kind of an herbivore was this?

“I’m Tsuna!” He beamed at the bloody boy, “Will you be my Hana-chan?”

“…What.” Kyouya said more than asked.

“Will you be my Hana-chan?” The herbivore repeated slowly before deciding that the situation necessitated more explanation, “Like, be my _friend_ , the kind of scary but very precious friend that won’t allow you to bother them too much?”

Kyouya half glared half gaped at the weird boy before solving this incomprehensible problem with a short:

“Carnivores can’t be friends with herbivores.”

“Carnivores?” The ignorant herbivore asked.

“Carnivores are strong and they take care of herbivores. Herbivores are weak and useless so they crowd for the strength.” Kyouya said in what was probably more words than he had used in the entire month.

“So you are a carnivore?” The brunet asked.

“Hn.”

“And these,” he prodded a Yakuza grunt with his shoe (trying not to get it dirty all the while), “are herbivores?”

“Hn. Dead herbivores.” The small herbivore looked a little pale and now slightly unsure and Kyouya internally (very _very_ deep down) cheered, because this was how an herbivore should act.

But then the boy shook his head, features suddenly brightening in understanding.

“Why did you kill them?” The brunet asked, too unaccustomed to the lack of fear, Kyouya uncharacteristically answered.

“They attacked small herbivores in my territory. They broke the rules.” He explained with the herbivore nodding excitedly along.

“I knew it! Hana-chan explained these things to me; you are an anti-hero!” The fluffy child gushed.

“Anti-hero?” Kyouya repeated, trying to, this time at least, catch the indecipherable meaning.

“No? Dark-Shepherd then? The Dreaded?” The cute herbivore listed enthusiastically, doe eyes becoming more and more sparkly. “Please, _pleaaseee_ be my Hana-chan!”

“Carnivores can’t be friends with herbivores.” Hopefully, the small creep would finally understand that Kyouya didn’t want herbivorous friends.

“But _whyyyy_?” Pouted the brunet.

“Herbivores are weak and ungrateful. They can’t appreciate help and they are stupidly scared of their carnivore. And they are completely useless.” The carnivore explained. The small herbivore answered by kicking his shin (with power equal to that of a Chihuahua) and glaring (pouting). Hn, intimidation-incapable-herbivore.

“That’s not true! We’re also useful!” He countered, causing Kyouya to send him an unimpressed look, “Like… _Likeee_ … I know! I can get the police that’s coming here off your back!”

The boy grinned smugly, oblivious to the way the Kyouya’s eyes widened in shock. Because, shit, he must have taken too long talking here. He should have left as soon as he was done, like he normally did.

As if on cue, police sirens sounded out and there was the sound of a car stopping right in front of the alley. The brunet, still smiling, caught his hand dragged him near the wall, behind a small pile of yakuza. Then he proceeded to huddle behind them, trying to get the clothes, the ones that he had worked so hard to keep clean, bloody like Kyouya’s.

Wao. What an herbivore.

But his appreciation only lasted so long when the cute child grabbed his tonfas and retracted them into their folded forms to hide the weapons inside his long shirt.

“What. Are. You. Doing.” He gritted out while the herbivore, humming all the while, ushered him under a body as well.

“Just play along~” The brunet chimed. Kyouya watched the boy as he looked disgustedly at the blood on himself but smeared it all over anyway.

“Why are you doing this, Herbivore?” The carnivore asked, getting a quiet shush as an answer.

“They are coming.” Whispered the now mostly red (like Kyouya was) herbivore.

 

* * *

 

“Ugh. Thirteen of the Kyoujun-gumi… It’s their splinter group again isn’t it?” One of the officers said as the group of four stood near the alley entrance in front of the park.

“Likely. Who knew they could do it? Momokyoukai was it? They are not even one sixth of the Kyoujun but they manage to somehow get rid of every Yakuza causing trouble in Namimori.” The oldest one answered before giving a wry smile, “They haven’t done anything yet, at least, so I guess they are waiting to settle this first.”

“And did you hear,” another started conspiratorially, “The murders were all done by one single person. A friend of my friend who has a cousin in Forensic said that they were all muddled by this ‘Red-Back Deserter’. It’s becoming an urban legend already.”

“’Red-Back Deserter’? Really, Kazuya?” the last one; a blond, no-nonsense woman, snorted.

“Yep. Because he, or I guess she, is very small and very dangerous, thus the red-back spider. Smaller than 1.30 meters I’ve heard. And his weapons are most likely police tonfas. So Deserter.” Explained Kazuya.

“Also known as; the Forensics is the club-house of geeks.” Laughed the first man.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that–” Kazuya tried to protest but was cut short when the senior officer made a shushing gesture and looked in concentration to the alleyway.

Then they all heard it; muffled hiccups and sniffles coming from under a pile in the corner. A pile of corpses that is.

“That is…” Muttered the woman.

“Kazuya, Seiko, you two go check it, we’ll stay outside the alley for the Forensics.” Ordered the old man.

“Yes sir.” They both answered, looking equally serious.

 

* * *

 

Tsuna went through every single dead-puppy, impossible-love sad story he knew (of which he actually had quite a huge number because Hana was a sadist like that) to be able to cry when he was actually so _sooo_ happy because ‘He found his own Hana-chan!’ and ‘He’s even a better Hana-chan than even Hana-chan!’.

But he needed to cry. To both help his Hana-chan and to make him recognize Tsuna as a _friend_.

So with all of his experiences on the Mighty Power of Cute reviewed and a motivation of steel, he squeaked in fear when the bodies were moved from over them. Intentionally, of course… _Really_.

“What are they doing here?” the male police mumbled to the female one who was resolutely ignoring her companion.

“I’msorrypleasedon’thurtus!” Tsuna babbled as his trembling intensified, tears hopefully coming and snot hopefully not. He needed the cuteness factor for this.

“Calm down, child, it’s all alright now. We’re are the police, we’re here to help you.” The woman reassured as she crouched down.

“…Really?” Two sniffles, check. Quivering and quiet voice, check. Tearful puppy eyes, check.

“Really. We won’t hurt you.” Tsuna gave the blond a wobbly smile before throwing his arms around her neck and ‘crying hysterically’. Sometimes, even he himself was in awe of his skills.

“I-I was so scared!” He whimpered, “Tsu-kun and Ha–” Oh no, what was Hana-chan’s name?! “Ha-Hayato,” Safe. “were walking and then the men were fighting but they turned and saw Tsu-kun and one attacked but Haya-chan protected me but then they hurt him and then fought but fell and stayed there and Haya-chan won’t talk and and–”

“Shh… Calm down… We got it, you’re safe. Now then, let’s find this Hayato-kun and help him as well, okay?” The man reassured as he patted Tsuna’s head. Maybe they really bought it? He just had to boast about this to Kyo-chan!

The brunet beamed at the man with watery eyes before jumping on the shell-shocked Not-Really-Hayato. He really needed to learn the boy’s name.

“Haya-chan! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Thank you for protecting me! Oh no, you got cut right?! We need to get help!” He babbled on the raven-head’s bloody shoulder, squeezing his just-as-bloody-waist tightly.

_Must. Not. Think. About. The. Dirt._

It was weird. Tsuna should have been scared. He should have been running around in fear, or better yet, running away in fear. He should have been terrified of the bloody carnage, of the monster the boy likely was to kill like this.  

But he wasn’t. Tsuna felt absolutely safe, hugging a devil with corpses everywhere around them and blood smeared all over his brown hair and usually carefully maintained clothes. Perhaps if the boy wanted to hurt the brunet, and only then, could Tsuna be afraid of his very own, very much loved and still very scary Hana-chan.

He had said it, this person was an anti-hero, but still a hero. (And they were going to make the world happy, so they were on his side!)

“No! I forgot! Haya-chan let’s go! Mama said she would wait for us in the café! She must be so worried!” Tsuna exclaimed, distress written all over his face, and pulled his friend towards the other end of the alley that opened up to the shopping district.

“Wait!” the police-woman called out, making the brunet turn around with tears threatening to spill. The blond stilled for a second, but still slowly came after them.

“We can’t go?” Tsuna asked softly, almost fearful of the answer.

His definitely-not-schemes could not have failed!

“Come on, Seiko. Let them go. We already have witnesses for the ‘Red-Back Deserter’, don’t involve small children.” Her male counterpart said catching her by the arm. “Look at them, one is in shock and the other is crying. Let the mother calm them down.”

He then turned to them and asked if their mother was nearby to which Tsuna nodded repeatedly.

The woman gritted her teeth before also agreeing, albeit reluctantly.

Yay, success!

“Thank you!” The brunet chimed smiling. And they dashed out of the alley (or rather he dashed and the boy was dragged along).

 

* * *

 

“Herbivore. Why did you do that.” Kyouya repeated his previous question.

“Because you’re my Hana-chan, of course.” The herbivore answered with absolute certainty. That stilled the raven-head and he finally observed this weird herbivore.

The brunet wasn’t scared. For some reason. He didn’t think Kyouya was doing something wrong. Again, for some incomprehensible reason. Usually herbivores didn’t appreciate his help, not for themselves and definitely not for others. The herbivore probably hadn’t even seen the two even smaller herbivores that had run away after he distracted the Yakuza. By bashing their skulls in.

The small boy, despite being an herbivore, also was unexpectedly capable. And he used this to help Kyouya. For some reason.

God, he was becoming repetitive.

But really, this was such a strangely unherbivorous herbivore. (And perhaps, had the herbivore been even slightly strong, Kyouya would have called him an omnivore. But this was an herbivore who could be crushed even by other herbivores, one with no physical strength whatsoever.)

“What are you, not-herbivore?” He asked, just in case the brunet knew.

“That’s a stupid question, not-Haya-chan, I’m Tsuna!” The small boy giggled, not once turning back from his skipping through the dark alleys around the district. Kyouya idly wondered where he was being pulled to.

‘I’m Tsuna’, huh. Maybe, despite being illogical, that did make sense.

“…Hayato?” He asked, thinking back on the not-herbivore’s talk with the police.

“I don’t _know_ your name!" The brunet pouted, a fiery blush on his face. And, again _maybe_ , Kyouya could understand why the police-herbivores were so enraptured that they forgot about regulations. The brunet _knew_ how to use his qualities.

“…Hibari Kyouya.” The raven-head muttered finally.

“Great to meet you, Kyo-chan!” The boy beamed, never stopping his dragging them towards the residential area. (“But wait that’s my nickname!” was the random thought that came over one adorable five-year-old girl)

“Hn. Tsuna.” He couldn’t call the not-herbivore an herbivore anyway. In response, Tsuna laughed giddily, beaming even brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I'm head-canoning that the Momokyoukai broke off from the Kyoujun-gumi (Written with the kanji for big and spring, to Mmokyoukai's peach.) and that they survived because while they weren't yet doing anything criminal, Kyoujun-gumi's men who entered their new territory, Namimori, were.  
> 2)Kyouya the urban legend. 'Nuff said.  
> 3)Hana-chan is officially the new synonim for cloud now.  
> 4)The Anti-hero, the Dark-Sheperd and the Dreaded are official tropes and you can read on them in TVTropes!  
> 5)Far far away, one silver haired small boy sneezed, repeatedly, on his precious piano.
> 
> Well, new chapter! And its a big and fluffy one too, I think. Tell me what you think! Also, while I tried very hard, there is still some slight angst this chap, so I apologize. And I'm not sure if I'll keep Kazuya and Seiko, but we'll see.  
> (I wonder when anyone will comment on the chapter names ;D)  
> Hope you enjoyed it! Till next time. XD


	4. Colliding Clouds, Clashing (Skies)

Kyoko hummed as she helped Nana-san put another cake on the table. Today was, apparently, something of a baking day. (And by baking day, she means “the bakeries line up in front of the house to take any good they can get their hands on and sell them as the once-a-year “7th Special”” day.)

She had just decorated the last of the sixth batch of cookies when the doorbell rang. Nana looked up from the milk she was heating to call out for the girl lounging uselessly in the living room.

“Hana-chan! Could you open the door for me please?” The woman asked turning back to her pudding base. The ginger took off her apron and went out of the kitchen in a fit of curiosity.

“I'm also gonna check it, Nana-san!” She announced, running up to meet up with Hana who was standing stock-still in front of the door. What was it that made Hana-chan this shocked?

But then Kyoko settled next to her friend and almost started a greeting, only to pale noticeably.

“Ah!” She gasped in horror as she took in the people standing in front of the door. Dirty, bruised and bloody boys, looking like… looking like…

Looking like they had fought!

“Monkey… What have you done?” Hana questioned in a stony voice that showed, Kyoko knew, her internal panic.

The brunet –who wasn’t currently one– smiled widely, grabbing his friend(?) by the hand to run inside and upstairs. Hana was likely seething inside at the lack of an answer but Kyoko was honestly too shocked to care.

And who wouldn’t be? After seeing their beloved friend covered from head to toe in blood (and she hadn’t even been allowed to see it on TV!) bringing in an even bloodier boy without any explanation…

But she wasn’t just a weak little girl anymore. Her ambition gave her strength she normally wouldn’t have had; she could put her foot down when it was necessary.

So Kyoko collected herself and decidedly marched upstairs. They had a mission and she wouldn’t permit Tsu-kun to go fighting when he might get hurt and fail it. Their shared dream was more important than hurt feelings! Even if Tsuna might not like her…

No. _Happiness for everyone, happiness for everyone_ , she chanted, she was not too scared to scold someone!

Hana keeping behind her like a devoted sentinel was a warm reassurance that she couldn’t have gone onwards without.

 

* * *

 

The bathroom door banged open to finally reveal Tsuna and his mysterious friend. Less red and more pink now. Well, the boys at least, because the bathroom had been blue the last time she checked.

Hana sent a _look_ at the cheerful brunet cleaning the other boy’s (bloody) sullen face with a wet towel, unfortunately however the monkey failed to see it with the way he was turned behind. She thought about muttering something derogatory that ‘ _she hadn’t meant for him to hear, honest!_ ’ but there was no way it would go through the giddy humming.

Humming! Tsuna, _humming_.

Not that there was anything wrong with his voice, she conceded. It was just that music was more of a Kyoko thing and, for all their similarities, if Tsuna did anything even remotely resembling singing, it would be because he was very happy. (Or _euphoric_ , depending on how lightly one wanted to take it.) Unlike Kyoko who would hum, whistle or sing depending on her mood.

She was kind of an exception though. Kyoko would do music like the bees did flowers. The sky was blue, the grass was green, boys were monkeys and Kyoko sang. # _Universal fact_.

It told of how _hard_ she was distracted that she had lost focus long enough to miss the beginning Kyoko’s chiding.

“And how could you _fight_ like that?!” the ginger sniffled, causing the boy to huff as if to say ‘ _I was there when you learned that’_ , “You know violence is bad! Why don’t you think of _our dream_? What if something happened to you and I had to continue it alone?”

_Well what might that be?_ Hana thought, amused. _Someone feels guilty_ … She laughed, internally of course, watching the black-haired boy look at Kyoko with a disgruntled expression on his face.

But then the boy sent a pointed look at the still dripping towel in Tsuna’s hand and Hana remedied: _…Or not_. She sighed sadly, already seeing her potential future teasing material evaporate. The boy was just annoyed at the interruption.

And he was sending _her_ sharp glares now! Who did he think he was, that damn late-comer? This was _HER_ home _he_ had invaded! (Hana expertly ignored the unconscious mental refute. It was hers if she said so.)

Well, he had it coming if he thought that Hana couldn’t generate frosted glares like Kyoko did cupcakes and butterflies just because his eyes were just a smudge sharper. No, she was _not_ jealous…

Even if that perfect angle of narrowing would have complemented her Glare number 24 _so well_ …

“… Hana-chan!...”

Eh? What!

“ _Oh my god_!” Kyoko squealed giddily and _what happened during the few seconds that Hana missed?!_ , “That is _soo amazing_! I was scared you _never_ would, I'm _sooo_ glad!”

Hana watched, astounded, as Kyoko gushed with an equally exuberant brunet. The ginger was, yes, easily distracted. But she never switched tracks so fast that it made her seem bipolar.

“–and so I saw him standing in an alley, but there were bodies around so I was at first scare–”

_Bodies?!_ was the thought that struck Hana with the force of lightning. Kyoko was also looking slightly disturbed now, but her attention was still on Tsuna.

Unlike Hana, whose scrutiny was single-mindedly dedicated to what she now registered as the only threat in a previously safe room. Namely, the brunet’s bloody “friend”.

“By bodies… you mean,” the small girl’s voice dropped to a terrified whisper, “ _dead bodies_?”

In response, Tsuna nodded cheerfully –entirely too cheerfully for a boy who used to be terrorized by Chihuahuas of all things– and returned to getting the blood out of the two of them.

Some things made sense to Hana now; the blood, the signs of fighting. And other things were still mysteries; why the timid five-year-old could at the very least roll among dead bodies to have gotten so dirty, why he wouldn’t be scared of a mass murderer…

Though Kyoko apparently didn’t share Hana’s academic interest in her friend’s behaviour as she immediately started a sermon on how _“you couldn’t be friends with a murderer_ ” or, turning to the raven-head, how _“killing was a horrible horrible bad-thing and you very very very much couldn’t do that!”_

From then on, with both Tsuna and Kyoko being immature five-year-olds, it dragged into petty bickering.

Hana, once again, zoomed on the time-bomb ticking in the room. The sharp-eye-monkey was either offended or bored out of his mind; she honestly couldn’t tell, not that that stopped her from trying. But her tunnel-vision observing made her startled like hell when Kyoko and the Cute-Monkey, for some reason that Hana didn’t have enough crazy to understand, decided that her circumstances had something to do with their fight.

“But _your_ Hana-chan is mean to weak children!” Tsuna stated heatedly. (Hana really _really_ couldn’t keep up with this ‘your Hana-chan, my Hana-chan’ business.) “She is a bully!” The boy finished, the well-practiced warm smile on his face bordering on smug.

Kyoko gasped in scandal before hurriedly trying to deny it.

“That’s not true! Hana-chan’s just… just… Well at least my Hana-chan isn’t an evil person!” She shot back, the ‘There!’ plainly hanging off her words. Tsuna gasped as if she had cursed his six generations to hell.

Honestly. Hana could go on and on about the much more sophisticated _and cutting_ insults they could have used instead of ‘evil-person’ or ‘bully’. What were they, _five?_

The girl broke out in shivers and hives at the mental affirmative answer and swore never to think about it again.

“ _My_ Kyo-chan only protects the town! _And he is a better Hana-chan then your Hana-chan could ever be_!” The brunet shouted and were those _tears_ dropping down his face?!

“How could you? That’s my nickname! _My Hana-chan’s_ the _best_ Hana-chan, _ever_ , and _how could you_?!” Kyoko screamed back.

Okay, this was fast getting ridiculous. But Kyoko hiccoughed and Hana thought, some form of uncharacteristic heat settling in her stomach, maybe she _should_ interfere.

Apparently the other boy also thought along the same line because both of the yet silent two were soon dragging their still crying and fighting friends out of the room and away.

Hopefully, distance would snap them out of their anger.

“Stupid-Kyoko!”

“Idiot-Tsuna!”

Or not…

Hana sighed in defeat. Well, at least she wasn’t the only sane person in their group anymore.

…And wasn’t _that_ a terrifying thought?

 

* * *

 

A sniffle.

“…I hate her.”

Another sniff.

Kyouya watched the Unherbivorous-Herbivore cry with half a mind to beat the female-herbivore. Sometimes, even he really didn’t understand himself. But– obviously, being the civil and reasonable person he was– the carnivore just went on to comfort Tsuna…

…Well, _try_ to comfort Tsuna.

“Hn. The female-herbivore was herbivorous.” There. He had practically pledged support to the brunet’s side.

Tsuna scowled (pouted; intimidation-incapable-non-Herbivore) on his bed, hugged the fluffy orange lion tighter and then apparently decided that it wasn’t big enough.

Because the small non-herbivore left the plush, turned sideways facing him and latched onto Kyouya. And then _hugged_ him. _Hugged. Him_.

“Tsuna. What are you doing.” Kyouya demanded stiffly because, yes, it was a very pleasant warmth. But it was also more than the entire physical contact allowance that the boy would allot to a whole _month_. Even year, if he was particularly lucky.

“Humph.” The brunet puffed and snuggled even deeper, “Stupid-Kyoko is stupid. Kyo-chan is an awesome person. And an _awesome_ Hana-chan.”

Kyouya sat as still as a stone-statue. ABORT MISSION. ABORT MISSION. He had to IMMEDIATELY reconcile Tsuna and the herbivorous-female-herbivore.

…There was no other way out of this that ended with his pride –and (though not as important) probably the Hana-chan-Herbivore’s as well– alive and intact.

“The female-herbivore was just… Scared...” Kyouya tried clumsily, he was better at destroying than he was at repairing. “She will get used to it.”

Tsuna wavered in his anger. No matter how unherbivorous he was, the brunet _was_ after all herbivorously Herding with the female-herbivore. Thus, the Not-Herbivore flashed him half-hopeful small-animal-eyes. (Translated from Kyouyan that meant “puppy eyes” in Human Tongue.)

“Kyo-chan… you’ll, you will forgive Kyo-chan?...” Tsuna asked softly. Hn, nickname confusion. Also, if the Non-Herbivore did this whole fight for him, Kyouya was going to… He was going to…

…Oh hell, the brunet was almost a small animal anyway. So the carnivore nodded indulgently in answer.

Small animals _were_ always adorable and troublesome. Kyouya liked them despite it. Or maybe he liked them _for_ it. He never quite understood himself.

 

* * *

 

Kyoko cried into Hana’s shirt with renewed intensity every time she thought of how Tsuna didn’t care about all those suffering people. Fighting made people _sad_.

But killing… Killing was even worse, it made them _cry_. She remembered when Moriko-chan’s puppy had died. The poor girl cried for _weeks_ after, it was _horrifying_!

But Tsuna didn’t care now! At all!

Maybe he didn’t want to make people happy anymore. Maybe he just wanted to be with his newly found _friend_. He didn’t want to be friends with _her_ anymore.

That Idiot-Tsuna!

She bawled even harder as Hana-chan pat her head.

“Hey, Kyoko… I was thinking…” The brunette started hesitantly making Kyoko blink her tears away to look.

“Hana-chan?” She asked, curious. Hana looked away, blushing slightly, before cleaning her throat.

“Well, you see, Kyoko… I really _did_ bully people. It was… _fun_ , to see what I could make them do with enough pressure.” She continued while she watched Kyoko’s face intensely, probably to gauge her reaction, “I made them commit crimes, I once even broke apart a family, got a child put in an orphanage.”

Why was Hana-chan telling her these things? Kyoko already knew of them. Yes, her friend _had_ made mistakes, but it was to learn about her talents for future use! Hana used them to protect her now! She was a _good person_ after all!

“God, how do I say this…” Hana-chan mumbled into Kyoko’s hair, “I’m a bad person. A sadist in it’s very definition. And _I’ll_ be the first to admit it. It’s… not normal.”

“Eh?” What?

“Look, think of it like this. If A person made B person steal by force, that A person would be evil right?” Hana tried again.

“Of course!” Kyoko answered, it was obvious after all. But what did it have to do with their talk?

“Well, I was, _am_ , that ‘A person’. It’s not normal that you just forgot about that and decided I was a good person. Completely unreasonable.”

Oh. _Oh._

“No no no. Hana-chan that makes no sense! You’re a good person, of course. What you did was just practice for future helping!” Kyoko denied vehemently, trying to reassure her friend. Hana-chan wouldn’t start not _liking_ herself would she?

“See! No, it wasn’t! What I did was to have fun. I don’t even care if I'm a ‘bad person’ or something. You just suddenly liked me for no reason whatsoever, so Tsuna probably did the same. You two are too similar for logic to work.” Hana explained triumphantly, but Kyoko just couldn’t understand.

“But… But you’re my _friend_! My _Hana-chan_! You– you’re _good_ … Like, like you wouldn’t _ever_ hurt me! And you always help my friends! How can I not like you, you’re an _amazing_ person!” The ginger tried explaining much to the obvious frustration of her friend.

“Ugh… That’s because it’s you, Kyoko. _Fine_. Let’s, let’s try it like this,” Hana sighed, “If _I_ killed a bunch of people, would you still continue to be my friend?”

Kyoko bit her lip, that was such a terrible thing to think of. But Hana-chan wanted to know, so…

“I– I would. You’re my _friend_ , Hana-chan. _Nothing_ would change it.” She answered resolutely at last.

“Well, there you go. Put the Cute-Monkey in your place and Sharp-Eyes in mine.” The brunette smiled and then muttered as if to stop Kyoko from hearing; (“You two are weird like that.”)

That… That made sense, somehow. Since the boy was Tsu-kun’s Hana-chan, he probably _was_ a good person. Maybe she just misunderstood.

But the new Hana-chan still couldn’t keep on killing, they had to find another way for him to protect the town!

And he couldn’t have Kyoko’s nickname either. She would fight tooth and nail for that!

 

* * *

 

“And so,” Tsuna announced with a smile before their three-person audience, “me and Kyo-chan have decided that Kyou-kun can’t kill anymore.”

“But obviously,” Kyoko continued cheerfully, “we will help him protect our town. So anyone who disturbs the peace will get bitten to death like usual, but if they don’t stop being bad people…”

The two shared a look as their evil smiles were covered up by their better cousins.

“Then we will use the power of Cute on them!”

One of the audience happily commented, “How nice!”.

Another face-tabled, making the various sweets on it bounce.

The last one wasn’t even on the couch, but instead on the window sill, watching the two indulgingly.

Tsuna and Kyoko cheered, time to get some outside help for their plans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Early update! Beware tho, I wrote this while I was sick and wasnt actually expecting to post it just in case the chapter made sense only to my fever-addled brain. But then I was like, meh. So you get loads of fluff!
> 
> Also, I've decided that I will go deep deep into Flames and their effects on psychology and inter-personal relationships. So this chap focuses on that as well. Note the part about how both Kyoko and Tsuna decidedly ignored reality to believe the best of (and for) their Clouds. 
> 
> Why does only Hana realise it? Well, neither Tsu-kun nor Kyo-chan are particularly introspective and Kyou-kun is too eccentric himself. 
> 
> Also also, Hana is so badass! And evil... Well, I headcanon that Clouds are rather close to having Antisocial-Personality-Disorder if not for someone to become a moral compass or for a personality-altering past situation. (while Skull is an entirely other can of worms.)
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I apparently write better fluff when sick. And do leave a comment on your way out. It makes me happy to know my writing changes at least someones day for the better! XD


	5. (How to) Create Cults

The beaten and battered man lying on the ground twitched. He slowly and carefully (so as to not hurt it any more than it already was) moved his hand up and put it on his forehead, groaning painfully.

Being Yakuza was a thankless job, even in a high position, he knew. And yes, it had gotten even worse with all the crackdowns and precautions taken by the government. Having trouble was generally the job description; whether it be physical or economic.

But this? This was something frightful. Truly horrifying. This was the nightmare of all those not law-abiding. This was Hell hidden under pretty flowers and clear skies.

This was Namimori.

He hadn’t believed it at first. ‘Red-Back Traitor’? He had laughed, oh, had he ridiculed the monster. He had looked at the age, at the height. He hadn’t seen the shadows lurking behind a chubby face.

Right until it was his turn to “disturb the peace”, had he disregarded all the warnings.

And now he was lying alone and broken in some random back alley, vision blurring and swimming, the pain spreading like dry-ice through his body. Honestly speaking, he was going to die. He knew it, the universe knew it, there was nothing not to know.

He was going to die. Plain and simple.

The man shuffled tentatively on the bloody ground but then violently spasmed as he bit back a scream of agony.

He was a simple man. He wouldn’t have been able to say that he would face death with dignity or something, no matter how much his pride demanded. Because he had regrets. And he had wishes, dreams, he had goals to complete.

But he would have thrown them all to the wind if for a chance to create others.

And he really, _really,_ wanted to live. Though it was futile, he knew.

He never would get another chance to enjoy that recent fling of his. He never would get another chance to drink in celebration with his friends after that one difficult battle. He never would again see that small, useless dog that he actually loved but never admitted to. He never would see the little brothers that he had cowardly left to his disgusting ‘father’. He never would–

“Mister, are you alright?”

–And suddenly he was dead. Why else would there be an angel coming to get him?

Mochida Ichirou squinted glazed eyes against the bright white light, trying to make out the features of his escort. It was a child? Yes, very small and petite. Caramel eyes and chocolaty hair. Also fluff. Much fluffy.

Huh, maybe death made people partial to randomness.

“An angel?…” The man muttered, because obviously one must always check their conclusions. Even if they were %100 certain.

The angel laughed, warm and clear, and pat Ichirou’s head. He could feel his eyes drooping as he slowly forgot about his pain and all that was left was numbness instead. And maybe a little coldness.

“You’re not dead, mister. I made sure of it!” The beautiful voice assured. Then the light receded a little and Ichirou could now see the adorable face of his angel? saviour? through the misty haze.

“I'm– I'm not…?” He started, in vain. Darkness spread from the edges of his vision and soon any aches he had still been feeling were lost in the hand rhythmically moving on his head.

And then he was out.

 

* * *

 

 

“Excuse me∼ Nee-chan?” Kyoko chimed, getting the reception lady to look at them, “Mama said to come here and that you would take us to her friends!”

“Hmm...” The woman answered disinterestedly, “What’s your mother’s name?”

“Kuroyama Haname!” Kyoko answered enthusiastically, unabashedly proud of her lyi– erm, _acting_ skills.

True to Hana’s words, the receptionist snapped into attention before getting up from her desk and hastily helping the four children into a private room with promises to get the Director and return fast. How unfortunate that the Hana-chan’s naming sense didn’t match up to her “people skills”.

Kyoko jumped onto one of the puffy couches and snuggled into the pillows. She laughed when Tsuna almost tripped Kyou-kun while doing the same. The woman watched them settle down in the beautiful room before she went back out.

“That was great Hana-chan!” Tsu-kun gushed happily when the receptionist dashed out of their small but private waiting room. Kyoko bobbed her head in agreement, feeling proud of her dear friend’s talents and even Kyou-kun looked reluctantly amazed.

“It was nothing,” Hana answered in what would have been humility if not for her smug grin, “I am embarrassed to say that I _accidentally_ heard some rather tarnishing truths about the director of, _completely coincidentally_ , the best hospital in Namimori. At least it’s good that there were some _very respectful_ business men who, out of the goodness of their hearts, wanted to make some charity donations to the health care in Namimori.”

Ah yes, the goodness of their hearts of course. Kyoko giggled at the “innocent” speech as Hana preened under the continuous fascination. After Kyouya had uncharacteristically beaten the rule-breaking-herbivores only _half_ (or a little more) to death, the criminals with grave crimes or repeat offence had been collected by the two girls and Tsuna (Kyou-kun beating yet _more_ people).

For what? One might ask.

For recruitment, they would answer. Tsuna had been adamant on that they needed more people if they wanted to ever actually affect the whole world and Kyoko couldn’t have agreed more.

The ginger thought Hana might just have been contemplating her existence during that particular conversation. Wonder why?

So anyways, the two of their group with experience on “persuasion”, not to count Hana-chan because she specialised in no-consent-agreements (which was a big no-no for people they wanted _in_ their group.), Tsu-kun and Kyoko herself were to talk with the hopefully-ex-to-be-criminals.

Kyoko rather thought it might be hard to make people turn their backs to everything they had known, while Tsu-kun seemed to vehemently disagree but couldn’t find a good reason why. Though the brunet always _did_ have a good sense.

None the less, the two were armed to the teeth (with cuteness of course, Kyouya handled the physical side more than well enough) and ready to go with a plan and a second or third just in case.

So when Kyou-kun nudged Tsuna and he started cleaning up, Kyoko was ready for the receptionists return. The ginger combed her hair with a hand as she looked at the now opening door.

“A-Ah, Kuroyama-san’s children? Very nice to meet you,” A pudgy, well-dressed man greeted nervously as he entered the room with the receptionist lady, “I’m the Administrative Director of this hospital. Kuroyama-san has requested some specific things and that we escort you to the patients in the 2nd sector of the private wing.”

“Yes, yes we know Mister!” Tsu-kun laughed and Kyoko nodded in agreement, “C’mon let’s go already.”

The ginger jumped from her seat, fixing the bow in her hair on the go as Tsuna rearranged his furry vest and grabbed his kitten-with-lots-of-mane-plushie. This was their first serious job, she decided nervously, it definitely never ever would be Kyoko who messed it up. Because Tsuna wouldn’t either. She couldn’t drag him down.

A hand held her shoulder steady and her over-active imagination leashed. Hana-chan _was_ always a girl of little words.

She looked to Tsu-kun and he sent a reassuring smile at her. Idiot-Tsuna, she thought, he couldn’t hide his anxiety from his best-friend the great Kyo-chan! So she smiled back at him to show her support.

Hana snorted from behind when they ended up relaxing themselves while trying to help the other.

 

* * *

 

 

_I can do this._ Tsuna thought. _I can do this, I can do this, I can do this._

He reached for the door handle in a fit of bravery while reviewing their strategy. _Go inside, talk to the person, make sure you’re adorably irresistible, get them to join you by any means possible._

But how would they get them to join? By bribes? Threatening?

Tsu-kun pondered furiously, hand still on the handle, but came up with no good ideas.    

_I can’t– I can’t do this!_

The brunet looked in trepidation at the door, ever growing in the eyes of a nervous five-year-old. He looked at the big, white, high, metal door of doom tha–

“Owie. Kyou-kun!” Tsuna cried, rubbing the place on his scalp that a tonfa had come at with his plush-less hand.

“Hn. Don’t be herbivorous, Non-Herbivore.” The raven-head answered. The brunet glared at him like all the mighty evil villains eviliously did. (“Yeah right,” everyone thought, looking at the teary pout on his face.)

Tsuna threw one last look at the metal door of doom before deciding to, now that the heavy mood had been evaporated by ever the destroyer Hibari Kyouya, wing it entirely.

Apparently though, he didn’t even have to _do_ anything. Because as soon as he entered with the rush of courage, just-conjured-propaganda ready at the tip of his tongue…

“Angel!” The patient greeted with shocked happiness.

_What._ Tsuna thought. It just might have been the driest thing he had ever thought.

“What.” Tsuna said. And he now kind of wanted to pout, Tsu-kun shouldn’t be using such sarcastic language! He needed to be cute, this was Hana-chan’s job. Even Kyouya was looking at him weirdly from his place leaning on the door frame.

_Think cute_. He ordered mentally. _Bunnies, ribbons, kittens, rainbows, clouds, lion cubs, deer babies– But, oh wait, then they will start to fight like Kyouya’s documentary and then there’ll be blood and the cub will…_

“Ah! Don’t cry, Angel,” The injured man gasped, “Are you hurt? Was it something I said? I can call you something else if you don’t like it, oh, but I don’t know–”

“N-no it’s okay Mister!” Tsuna assured, trying to think fast an excuse to not have to admit crying because of a documentary, “…I thought that you err, that you must be in a lot of pain. I’m sorry for what Kyou-kun did.”

The man looked touched before he shuffled a little and something seemed to dawn on him.

“’Kyou-kun did’? You don’t mean… The Red-Back Deserter? You know him?” He asked in astonishment. Tsuna nodded smiling in fondness, they were _still_ using that adorable nickname?

“Yep, yep. I asked him not to go killing, but he still doesn’t really stop himself,” Tsuna complained, knowing that he didn’t even sound slightly averse but not able to help it, “you’re actually lucky. Some of the others that tried taunting Kyouya, like you did Mister, didn’t get to go to the hospital.”

Really, that Kyou-kun. Tsuna wondered if this was how a mother with a delinquent son felt; unbearably fond of how he would protect her and his precious ones but if only he could stop _hurting_ himself and others.

Though the brunet couldn’t really not admit the small satisfaction he got of the children let out in the middle of the night or the girls walking confidently through dark alleyways in Namimori.

“I... see.” The man answered, “and by ‘not get to go’ you mean that they weren’t let in the hospital? Or that…” he started but he must have seen something in Tsuna’s closed-eye-smile because he didn’t continue. “…I see.”

“So Mister–” Tsuna began, but he stopped when the injured man opened his mouth.

“Angel, I’m,” The Mister hesitated for a second, ran his hand through his black hair and started again, “You can call me Ichirou, Angel. Can I continue calling you that?”

“Eh? Sure, of course. Still, I’m Tsuna. Nice to meet you.” The brunet paused after his unwarranted self-introduction and thought over Ichirou’s words for a second, before, “Eeeh? Continue? You’ll stay in Namimori? But your group is in Tokyo! Kyou-kun told me about it, you can’t not fight Momo-something if you stay and then Kyouya will kill you! But if you leave them you won’t have any money to–”

Tsuna finished his rant when he abruptly realized how weird he was being and looked to the ground, embarrassed.  That hadn’t been cute at all. He still needed more practice! But then he realized; this was a great opportunity! He would get all the bad-people on their side!

“Umm, Ichi-san?” He asked shyly, looking through long eyelashes just like Mama’s soap-opera, “Would you like to join us? We are going to make the world happy and so Kyou-kun will get the Peach-something-people to help us and if you want, you could work with them and you would have a job and also help make everyone happy and!”

“Angel, Angel! Calm down,” Ichi-san chuckled, “I was already going to help you in whatever you wanted since I owe my life to you, (“No matter the other circumstances. Scary kid,” he muttered unheard before taking another look into limpid doe eyes, “though adorable too.”) but this is way better, now I don’t have to worry about money.”

“So you’ll join?” Tsuna asked hopefully. Had he done it? Please, _please_ , let him have done it.

“Yeah, I’ll join.” Ichirou half-smiled before wincing, “I need to see my brothers anyway.”

“Yay! Thank you!”

 

* * *

 

 

Kyoko cheerfully nodded at the guards “Kuroyama Hanako” had requested be put behind the entrance of the sector that the yakuza they collected healed. In case of random enemies entering, escapees escaping and fights being fought. Hana really was such a detail-oriented person.

She skipped through the halls to the innermost room with Hana-chan being dragged along her jumps by the hand Kyoko held. She needed the moral support for all her current fears, not that she would allow herself to look anything less than happy.

Hana-chan must have realized this because she was subtly urging her to keep going. And by subtly, Kyoko meant that, not to brag or anything, no one else but her could have noticed the urging.

So when they reached the closed door hiding the two patients inside, the ginger only allowed herself one millisecond to envy how Tsu-kun started with the only single person room in this wing. And then she barged inside without skipping a beat, still smiling serenely.

Hana entered silently closing the door and surely keeping an eye on the “dangerous monkeys”. How reliable she was.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Kyoko!” She started optimistically.

“Hah.” One of the men, the scarred and bald one, snorted, “What are you doing here, little girl, huh? Came to ‘entertain’ us?” He wiggled his eyebrows and laughed loudly at his own joke.

“You–!” Hana-chan started, offended by something that had eluded Kyoko. Yes, she _was_ here to entertain them, and of course to get them to join, what was so funny about that?

Unexpectedly, the dark-haired girl wasn’t, for once, alone.

“You fucking pedo of a bastard! Damned mother-fucker, what the goddamn hell are you fucking saying to Kyoko-sama! If I wasn’t fucking injured in this useless lump called a leg, I would bloody throttle you, you thrice darned son of a bitch!” The younger male on the opposite side swore. “I would get that fucking...”

“Eh?” Kyoko muttered after watching fifteen minutes of silent mouth-moving, curtesy of one sensible Hana-chan that had thoughtfully closed innocent ears off to the vulgarity.

The ginger looked between the now-panting blond and blue-in-the-face baldie before using the most powerful weapon of all those who have ever lived in the Sasagawa household for more than a week.

Ignore the weirdness, focus on what makes sense. So, the fight. Kyoko had to stop it before anything else.

“I’m sorry.” She sniffled (it might not work on Tsu-kun but these people were new to the trick), letting some tears sparkle in her eyes, “Please don’t fight. I just came to ask something…”

“Don’t worry, Kyoko-sama, we weren’t fighting. And of course, we’ll do anything you ask of us, _right_?” The blond sent the older yakuza a glare before continuing, “So go on and ask! You saved us after all, it’s the least we could do as men of honour.”

“I wouldn’t know about that, boy,” The scarred man shot, “I don’t owe this missy here nothing.”

“Oh!” Kyoko interjected, lightbulb metaphorically appearing above her head, “Was Tsu-kun the one who brought you here? You know; fluffy brown hair, big eyes, small and cute?”

“Maybe,” The older male sneered, “but that still doesn’t mean that I have to give my life for her or anything. The world doesn’t work that way, lil’ miss.”

“No no no! You got it wrong,” The ginger denied shaking her head, “We don’t want you to die for us! I just wanted to ask if you wanted to join us to help the world be better.”

Kyoko gave a bright smile at the blank looks her words brought. “And maybe, if you want to, join the Peachy Yakuza that Kyou-kun got for Tsu-kun. And we’ll all work together to make everything better!”

“Ermm… Kyoko-sama, that is… Peachy Yakuza?” The blond asked uncertainly.

“Momokyoukai, monkeys.” Hana explained shortly.

“Momokyoukai?! The one that destroyed half the Kyoujun-gumi for entering their territory? And this ‘Kyou-kun’ of yours took it over! That’s impossible!” The baldie shouted making Hana give him a sneer that left the man’s in its shadow.

“It happened. Get over yourself.” She growled.

“You can come and see it if you want to!” Kyoko chimed, destroying the growing tension, “Soo∼ Do you wanna join the strongest Yakuza in Namimori and work for the good?”

“I’ll join if you want me to, Kyoko-sama.” The blond man agreed.

“Yeah, fine. I’ll join. But I’m expecting to meet the Red-Back.” The other man spat.

_One room done._ Kyoko cheered. _Just… thirteen rooms left… Uuuu…_

* * *

 

 

The members of the recently famous Momokyoukai sneezed in their hospital beds. This day was the third after their group was taken over by a random six-year-old child.

How unfortunate that the hospital could set broken bones and stich gashes but couldn’t mend a smashed pride.

Oh well, at least they now had two precious fairies to shine some sunlight on their miserable moods.

_“Hello everyone! Kyo-chan and I got your Peach group many members today!”_

_“And we brought apple pies for you!”_

Yeah. It could have been worse, they thought as they smiled and thanked the two angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, everyone! Longest chapter yet. I had a lot of fun writing this. Well, they are slowly starting that conquest I talked about. 
> 
> I dont't have much to say this time, huh. Normally I can't seem to finish it. Meh. 
> 
> Anyway, do tell me if anyone has any requests or ideas about future chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! XD


	6. Connected Characters

Tsukiko sighed as she put a plate of dinner into the oven to keep it hot.

“Not coming again?” Her husband asked, as if he couldn’t see the situation for himself. Clearly, since he still wasn’t here, Kyouya had missed another family meal.

On patrol… as far as the woman knew. Keeping Namimori safe from murderers and gangs and theft and all those things that generally went to the police but obviously didn’t in their town. Or she thought so. Her son could have just as well been raising his very own Yakuza group. Not like she could know, she thought bitterly, not with the way Kyouya never talked to them.

“I’m going to bed then,” Kyoshi sighed, “It’s your turn tonight right? And tomorrow’s mine.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved him off to bed, “Good night, dear.”

“Hn.”

Then she settled at the kitchen table to wait with a cup of tea. They always made sure that at least one of his parents was there to greet Kyouya on his return. Even though he might have lost all his respect towards them, there was still no harm in showing their never changing love towards him.

She perked up at the sound of the door opening before her son walked in the room.

“Welcome home, Kyouya.” She said warmly, giving him his plate of food from the oven.

“Hn.” Her son grunted. Like father like son, it always made her laugh. She discreetly checked the boy for injuries as usual before noting something unexpected.

Kyouya was spotless. No dirt, no scratches, not even the blood of his… she didn’t continue that thought.

“You… You didn’t fight today?” She asked slightly incredulously, he hadn’t stopped despite their continuous protests, what could have made him avoid massacring poor criminals for a whole day? “Why were you so late then?”

Tsukiko wished that she could have sounded reproaching, she really did. But all three of them knew, neither parent really had much authority in the Hibari household. She hated it, the meek tone that always came out around her son, she hated it, Kyouya hated it, even Kyoshi hated seeing his wife so timid.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t muster the… what was an appropriate word? Ah, yes, she couldn’t muster the thick-skin necessary to command her son with her past tone of steel when she knew that Kyouya would obey only if he wanted to.

“Hn. Guarding.” He answered in-between bites. The shortest possible answer. Tsukiko knew her son like she knew her house, very well; short answers meant either annoyance or that he was hiding something.

And Kyouya was positively glowing, so not annoyance… Now that she thought about it though, Kyouya _had_ been coming home much happier these days…

And she knew him well enough not to ask why. So she would find the person being ‘guarded’ and solve this mystery herself.

Tsukiko sighed again. Why hadn’t she chosen a talkative and cheerful man to pass on his un-silent genes to her son?

…Right. _Love_.

 

* * *

 

 

“Kyouya, Kyouya,” Tsuna gushed, “did you hear? I’m going to start kindergarten this April!”

“Hn.” The raven-head nodded from the windowsill, the brunet pouted a little at not being able to give the news himself but shook it away. It must have been Hana-chan who told, she knew _everything_! And this made the situation not the least bit less exciting!

“Do you go to kindergarten? Can you tell me what it’s like?” The smaller boy interrogated his friend enthusiastically, trying to get all the information he could.

“No. I went to day-care.” Kyouya admitted.

“Really? When?” The brunet asked.

“Last month. I left because there was no more need to.” Kyouya answered briskly.

“Oh, but then your friends are still there? You have to let us meet! Are they herbivores too? Will they help us in our plan?” Tsuna listed eagerly. “But maybe they’re evil? No, is that why you don–”

“Tsuna.” The raven-head warned.

“Oh, sorry! So can we go meet them tomorrow?” Cue irresistible puppy eyes.

“…Hn.” He agreed. What? The eyes were called ‘irresistible’ for a reason.

 

* * *

 

 

Nana watched her son and his six friends play in the living-room with an endless swell of happiness inside her. At times like this, she almost couldn’t relate to those times when her little Tsu-kun would shy away from everyone but herself.

Those times when the only time Tsuna had touched someone voluntarily was because of their mutual fear of dress-up. But then they were currently almost siblings!

It made her so _so_ glad that she hadn’t been sick that day. That meeting with the lovely Kyoko-chan of Masaki’s led to her son breaking away the outer shell that he had taken to building with alarming speed.

And now, Tsu-kun brought more and more friends home. Friends that loved him more than anything. Friends that would _always_ take care of him. Because Nana might be bad at connecting the dots that others did easily, but she was the absolute _best_ at seeing their intentions.

She had lost her common sense in favour of the ability to read people and she knew it.

So when Tsu-kun came home one Baking Day (and was that ever so romantic! She cooked here in Namimori for their anniversary, and Iemitsu-dear would collect _thousands_ of wildflowers wherever his job took him, they would then exchange them through mail∼ See? _Romantic_.) dragging along a slightly bloody boy home, she wasn’t too worried.

Boys fought at their age, right? She remembered seeing blood come out of cuts, so fighting would cover a child in blood, right? Well, it all made sense to Nana.

It was healthy, she recalled, for the children to throw out some aggression through little scuffles. Although Tsu-kun hadn’t seemed inclined to it, maybe having an energetic friend around would help him as well.

Also, she knew from the way that the boy _looked_ that Tsuna was special. He would protect her son to _any_ length. It had been a breath of fresh air after the way Tsu-kun and Kyoko’s first friend had hovered around the girl, at first regarding the brunet only out of association.

And then the little group slowly grew. From the four children with the weirdest grouping of girls and boys, to an ever increasing number of people; the four, young men, old men, very impressive looking women…

Nana had thought on that for a while, wondering whether their rather odd relationship with the older people should be approved. Luckily, she had then read somewhere about interaction outside age groups. It was A-Okay! Good thing too, she wouldn’t have wanted to separate the people so attached to her son and his friends.

(And so, Nana was the proud mother of one of the most influential pair of five-year-olds in the world and she didn’t even know it.

It should also be mentioned that the Momokyoukai freaked out when one of their members, with broken bones everywhere and almost bleeding to death, was given first-aid by the mother who also called an ambulance, all the while muttering at him about how “children were so vicious these days” and that “he should be careful while getting rid of excess energy”.)

 

* * *

 

 

Hana came home late that night to the wonderful smell of cooking food and the sound of the music coming from the TV. She shook her head in exasperation, trust father to stay up this late to cook for her and then wake up in the crack of dawn to say goodbye to mother.

“Welcome home, Ha-chan.” He greeted with an energy that he had no place having at 1 o’clock. “I made fish tonight. It’s your favourite; salmon.”

"Thanks Tou-chan, I'm back." Hana answered going to sit down at the table.

He hummed and put the salad on the table as well before joining Hana.

"So, Ha-chan, how was your day? Why were you so late?" He asked putting some of the fish on both of their plates. "You are always late these days."

"It was fine." Hana answered, mind contemplating whether their 'activities' could be disclosed to her favourite family member, "Do you remember Kyoko? I told you about her last week?”

She would tell him some, leave the rest out. Because her father was the best _ever_ and the only reason she could go out alone was his open-mindedness towards 'child geniuses' as he called her.

Hana just thought that she was predisposed to the dark and dirty lie that was called reality. She _thrived_ in the law of the jungle.

"Yeah I do." Her father nodded, surprised by her willingness to talk, "you were so enthusiastic about her, I would never forget it."

"I was _not_!" She interrupted in outrage, "...Anyways. She and her friend got a group of erm... _admirers_. And I had to rebuild their horribly disorganized 'fan-club' from ground up."

"Admirers." He repeated arching a brow, "I see."

Her father knew that she was bending the facts. He always knew it when she did that, and Hana just couldn't bring herself to outright lie to her beloved parent.

Still, he didn't comment. Honestly speaking, Hana thought that she just couldn’t appreciate her father enough. He was gentle, he was elegant, polite, nice, understanding, thoughtful, open-minded...

His perfectness never ceased to impress the girl. Likely, her father was the sole reason for her view of the other gender, boys just _didn't_ _match up_. (Though whether disappointment could lead to obsession... That was another question.)

“Well, Ha-chan, remember our rules; take care of yourself, always have your phone and,” he winked at her, “never _ever_ , under no circumstance, tell your mother.”

Hana snorted into her fork, but nodded all the same. Kaa-san wasn’t bad or anything, Tou-chan probably hated going behind her back like this. _But_. But she was tired from her long hours of work, cranky from clients demanding _she find proof of that man cheating, now, or else!_ and way too set in her ways to see that, yes, her six-year-old daughter could manipulate the man with drugged candy and a white van into voluntary slavery.

And if the woman ever found out… Hmmm, that was what her father bought all those massage oils for, Hana guessed. How sly.

She was just _so_ glad that she had Tou-chan. Even if he might have freaked out and scrambled around at first, trying to build some sort of safety and authority that wouldn’t cause Hana to suicide out of oppression or hinder her fast development. He had observed her for months, discerning her limits and what she could and could not do (mostly could, if Hana did say so herself), before forgoing all other societal expectations to decide on new borders for Hana, _just for her_ , not six-year-old girls in Namimori.

And he had managed it too, spectacularly, though likely much laxer than what he had had in mind. The few rules he had put worked like clockwork, not to mention that she couldn’t have handled even a single limitation more.

Even though, Hana knew, he wouldn’t wish a child like her on anyone. She was a difficult one, one that could make parenting go very _very_ wrong if parents couldn’t separate ‘child’ from ‘their child’ or even if their realization that the child was different just came with a bad timing or way.

Well, she didn’t care about the others. She would just enjoy her lucky (or was that karma? She must have been Mother Teresa in her past life… Yeah right.) catch in the form of a perfect father.

 

* * *

 

 

“We’re here, everyone!” Tsu-kun beamed as he entered, Kyoko a step behind him.

“Angel! Kyoko-sama!” Answered a chorus of voices, most of the men turning towards them. Tsuna stilled at the nickname and the only thing he could think of was:

_Ah, they’ve multiplied._

But he didn’t show it on his face, oh no, he didn’t even break his smile. Kyoko was working on, erm, _‘natural beauty’_ as in looking cute with various stains on, examples including mud, water, poop and even blood that only Kyouya could safely bring. But Tsuna couldn’t join her yet. _He_ was _way_ too busy studying how to keep his cool (or should he say, _cute_? Tsuna giggled) during surprising situations.

So, he wouldn’t bat an eyelash to the, for some reason, currently widespread usage of ‘angel’ as his nickname.

“No fair! Why won’t anyone respect my nicknames…” Kyoko protested pitifully, “You can’t just give a nickname only to Tsu-kun!”

“You bet we can, spoiled princess.” Grumbled a bald man that the brunet remembered had been saying Not Nice words even while being saved. But the ginger brightened next to him and Tsuna could see a few lightbulbs lighting up simultaneously amongst the crowd.

“Ah, that’s a great idea Daiki! Right, Princess?” A blond cheered causing the actually nice(?) baldie to frown. It _was_ a great idea though.

“I like it, Kyo-chan!” Tsu-kun added enthusiastically, “You should agree!”

“Yeah, I love it!” Kyoko said and sent the man a grateful smile, “Thank you, Daiki-san!”

The man grunted unintelligibly and turned to hide his pink cheeks. This caused everyone else to laugh, leaving Tsuna and Kyoko in confusion, what was so funny?

It was nice nonetheless. Everyone happy like this, having fun together even though some had been enemies just two days ago. The brunet just wished Kyouya and Hana were with them here. But Hana-chan had to ‘organise the ranks’ or something and Kyou-kun was using the ‘train the weak herbivores’ excuse to beat people up.

And new recruits still continued to flow thanks to Peachy Yakuza’s big fame! It made Tsuna so proud!

“Ah right,” Kyo-chan started abruptly, snapping Tsuna out of his thoughts and the members out of their mirth, “we got a job, everyone. It’s very important!”

Oh! He had almost forgotten about that one! And that was the reason they came here too, was he getting old? Tsuna shook himself out of his trailing thoughts, the job. Right.

“But it might be dangerous. And you’ll have to fight.” The brunet warned as solemnly as he could before continuing with a more cheerful tone, “But we’ll get to help people! And even get more territory, Kyou-kun is very happy about that so I thought I would mention it.”

“But… You’ll have to fight. And get hurt so…” Kyo-chan reminded dejectedly, kind of making Tsuna tear up as well. He was trying not to think of the pain his new friends would have to be in just because the two asked it.

“Oh, Princess, Angel.” One of the now quiet men said with a wistful tone, “It’s our jobs to fight. We are _paid_ to hurt and get hurt.”

“ _So_ ,” Someone; Ichirou-san, Tsuna recognized, interrupted with a wide grin, “What do you want us to do, Angel, Princess?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evil cliffhanger!
> 
> So, we got Hana's family story, at last! Of all the current characters only Kyoko didn't get a backstory yet, but I have many plans for her family. And some Kyouya's family, honestly, it was so hard for me to keep the angst bugs away from that part! Really hard!
> 
> And I love Momokyoukai, they got their first official job, what could it be? We will also soon see the herbivores like shy-herbivore, popular-herbivore, herbivore-with-the-police-father! God I have so much planned for this fic!
> 
> Also, thank you all for the lovely suggestions! Keep them coming. Who knows? I might already have written something for all the current ones... XD You'll see! 
> 
> See ya all next chapter and thanx for the support!


	7. Cats, Costumes (Halloween Special)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, important note: this is not a regular chapter, instead it's one of the requested scenes, a halloween special made of pure fluff and humor! I'm working on the regular chapter but what with the exam week and all, I dont have much time for my fics. This special was already written so there you go tho :D
> 
> Also, one character that hasnt yet had any appearences will exclusively be on screen, so you have been warned. XD
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!

A brunet turned around in the warm bedroom decorated with string-spider webs and pumpkin lights, showing off his long striped socks and fluffy dark-purple scarf. The ginger girl next to him arranged her matching puffy purple dress and comparatively shorter striped socks.  
  
Two more children watched them with intent gazes, having been brought there to comment. One gazed longingly at the costumed children before steeling an unwavering resolve and the other just looked regretful of what they would have to do.  
  
But they trudged on.  
  
"This is... Right?" Hana asked turning to the boy next to her. Kyouya nodded, grim faced and serious.  
  
"Hn. Not acceptable." He agreed.  
  
"What?! _Whyyy_?" Tsuna pouted at them, not in the least bit understanding of their plight. Even Kyoko pawed at Hana in her agreement to the brunet's confusion.  
  
How the two didn't understand the dangers involved with Halloween eluded them. There were things far more harmful than the few imaginary supernatural roaming about the streets.  
  
They didn't want middle-aged stalkers coming in hoards after their smaller friends after all.  
  
Tsuna moved towards Kyouya, flicking the fluffy brown tail, and tried his luck in sending him puppy-eyes. (Or rather kitty-eyes.) Kyoko on the other hand used more under-handed means; looking at Hana from under her ginger locks and matching furry ears.  
  
The two cats held onto their respective friends with furry paws, toeing the grounds with equally furry paw-boots. Their shy tugs and glistening tears begging to be allowed to use the costumes.  
  
The two 'saner' children wavered, hearts bled, one even started taking out a cell phone for the potential photos, but finally, both Kyouya and Hana held strong.  
  
How couldn't the two not understand the consequences of such thought-provoking clothes? Herbivores flocked and monkeys salivated. Tsuna and Kyoko were much too cute to be allowed out like that.  
  
Why couldn't the two just realize that people were evil perverts and keep them from having to make agonizing denials?  
  
And, dammit, while they were contemplating the lack of insight the two had towards their narrow and rather bleak view of the social human world, Kyoko had ran off dragging a very willing Tsuna towards the hill of ribbons.  
  
Kyouya stalked towards them intent on stopping their increasing attempts at suicide by admirers. Hana just sighed in frustration.  
  
There was only one way to stop the two rather adorable cat-children from being kittens in the first place.  
  
And that was to find even cuter outfits.  
  
(Just hopefully more conservative.)  
  
"Sharp-eyes. I've got a plan, let's go."  
  
"Hn. Show me, Hana-chan-Herbivore."  
  
\--------------------------/////------------------------------

 

***CLICK* *CLICK* *FLASH* *CLICK***

“Muhuhuhahahahah– hak!- Cough!” Nana wheezed before grabbing the glass of water conveniently nearby, drinking blissful gulps.

“Ah∼ I’m not suitable for all this evil anymore.” The brunette explained to herself, “I had thought to make an exception for Halloween. And now see where that brought me.”

“Yes, you are absolutely right.”

“No. No, no absolutely not. I’m not old yet. And even if I was, evil doesn’t have an age limit.” She disagreed with herself, acknowledging that you were wrong was the first step to a successful life, “I can be evil again anytime I want, the only reason I failed my muhuha-laugh was because of lack of practice.”

“Hn. That’s true. Only lack of practice.”

Nana shook her head before collapsing onto the armchair that really had no place being in the middle of the hallway.

“Yes, well, but also no, not really.” She mused aloud, “Even if I practiced how I used to as a teenager, it wouldn’t be the same. One's vocal chords change with time you see, the really evil always accord their practice to their changing voices.”

“Obviously. And no doubt you do it as well.”

The brunette relaxed under the faint breeze on her face and twirled her lemonade glass, making the ice jingle inside.

“Yes, of cour–” She stilled, “Kyou-kun?! Hana-chan? Okay, what do you want?”

Hana dropped the fan she was holding and Kyouya put the tray of drinks on a nearby table. They looked at each other in determination before nodding.

“We want the photos of them in Halloween costumes.” Hana demanded, “For a price of course.”

“Oh?” Nana mused, hugging her precious camera full of adorable Kitten!Tsu-kuns and Kitten!Kyo-chans.

“Eleven different angles of Cute-Monkey and Kyoko sleeping together in five different settings. HD.” Hana negotiated, “And one exclusive collection of them shopping. Featuring matching outfits, sailor uniforms, giant hoodies and maid uniforms. All HD, again.”

The mother bit her lips… On one hand, sleeping Tsu-kun and Maid!Tsu-chan! On the other hand, _gothic kittens_ …

She looked towards Kyouya who had yet been silent.

The boy just took out one photo and showed it to the sparkly eyed woman:

“Disney Princess Tsuna. The one and only, we were banned from the zoo when the animals all ran away.”

“Deal.” She snapped and snatched the photo, throwing the camera at the children.

\-------------///--------------  
  
"So what do you think we could choose anyway?"  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Something that's cuter than what they already chose. What could it be?"  
  
"Small animal costumes."  
  
"...Cats _are_ small animals."  
  
"... smaller animal costumes."  
  
"Okay. That's a 'let's go ask someone'."  
  
\---------///////--------------  
  
"No no no! You don't get to go! I remember _very_ well what you thought about this take-over." A man shouted at the other one.  
  
"Well, it changed. What? Maybe you think that some random grunts (™) can do it?" The other man taunted right back.  
  
"Of course not." The first man boasted, " _I_ on the other hand, am both capable _and_ worthy."  
  
"YOU-!"  
  
"Calm down you monkeys. No one is going on guarding duty." Hana ordered as a silence fell over the previously rowdy yakuza base.  
  
"But Hana-san-!" Started a voice from the rather impressive crowd, only to fall weak when Kyouya raised his precious tonfas in lightning speed.  
  
"Quiet, herbivore. I can protect the Female-Herbivore and Tsuna just fine."  
  
"-but..." _strength in numbers_ was the refute not completed. The young member began his very logical argument, looked at the small demon, and decided that logic must have taken a Halloween vacation. He promptly shut up.  
  
"Now that that is over," said one very impatient Hana, "you guys can participate in the poll for the cutest outfit for Halloween."  
  
And all hell broke loose.  
  
\-------------///////-------------  
  
  
It was no surprise that the chosen outfit was the one to be so.  
  
\----------///////-----------  
  
A sky blue ribbon flew over his head and a roll of white chiffon hit hers.  
  
It was a nightmare.  
  
"My god, Nana-chan! You can't _possibly_ use that cloth!"  
  
The smell of silicone spread as one of the two women working frantically grabbed it. The other rushed through a small chest of shirts throwing around any piece of which she disapproved for one inane reason or other.  
  
"What about that jacket there then, Masaki?! It doesn't even fit the _theme_!"  
  
They shouldn't have asked them. They really shouldn't have. However there were but a few hours till trick or treat and the Momokyoukai had already set off to find accessories to go with their chosen costume.  
  
Kyouya and Hana had been forced to ask for help from the two very enthusiastic mothers of their future-costume-model-children.  
  
Nana-san tore through the various sewing tools, adjusting casual clothing into costumes as she went while Masaki-san combined and recombined in hopes of finding the best shirt-shorts combo (or dress or pants or jackets or whatever, it kept changing as she flew from chest to chest).  
  
The two were good. Very good. Just also very creepy...  
  
An unexpected explosion of rainbow coloured feathers made Masaki swear like a sailor but she later on grabbed a handful of them, matching the plumes with her outfits, a ferocious glee of hunger in her eyes.  
  
... _Very_ very creepy.  
  
"Our little darlings will be the best! EVER!"  
  
\---------------///-//---/-------------  
  
"This is real." Hana stated.  
  
"Of course, Hana-san! We wouldn't get swindled like that!" One of the man kneeling on the ground assured enthusiastically.  
  
"This is _real_..." The girl repeated, hoping against hope that the world would finally decide to make sense and that someone would disagree.  
  
"Umm... We thought..." One more sensible (and thus slightly sheepish) member of the Peach Association of Insanity murmured inaudibly.  
  
"What." Hana asked. Kyouya yawned behind her.  
  
"We thought that it would bring luck!" Explained another stupidly cheerful young man. "You know, helping pure souls, giving tribute and sacrifice."  
  
"Tribute." She deadpanned as she resisted the urge to elbow the menace and lack of logic that was Hibari Kyouya, standing behind her and not helping, damn his evil spirit.  
  
"Tribute to the gods? Like, the ancient people used to―" a blond started only to be interrupted by an incredulous Hana.  
  
"I know what a tribute is! However, you... You guys _do_ know that they aren't gods right?" She asked. ("And back to your seiza, dammit! You aren't forgiven yet!" She added, noticing the slowly standing man.)  
  
...  
  
" _Right?_ "  
  
...  
  
"Please just, _at least_ , tell me that you didn't buy these with our group fund."  
  
That brought a collective noise of denial and Hana sighed in relief, taking her whirling mind away from the financial advisors she would have had to 'persuade'.

  
Kyouya just retracted his tonfas, biting thieving herbivores to death would have helped with the leftover stress from the costume making process.  
  
"So what exactly do we have, in the end?" She grunted, massaging her temples. White hair at the age of ten sounded just like what she might get.  
  
"Ten golden bracelets, three silver; fifteen meters of fine silk ribbon; six jewelled necklaces, ranging from diamond to aquamarine; rings, again, of various jewels; tiaras and crowns. Some rare feathers are also here." A brunet near the heap of once-money listed.  
  
"Why, oh, _why_ must it _always_ be me?!" Hana wailed tragically. She then theatrically swaggered out of the room. It might have been slightly over dramatic. But well, in their group, no one was really sane after all.  
  
The yakuza still sat seiza that whole day for being irresponsible with their savings.  
  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
That Halloween, the citizens of Namimori lived through a fairly strange night. Well, stranger than the usual at least. Nothing was really strange when the hot topics of conversation were the rumours of a six-year-old dictator running the town security or the ones about Yakuza being the name for the nice young men who helped old women and protected your shop from theft.  
  
Yeah, Namimori was one odd town.  
  
But anyways, the older citizens of Namimori waited that night, as they would every Halloween, with candies to give and in decorated homes.  
  
A few children in various costumes made with differing professionalism came and went. Some were shooed, some were cooed over, but everything was as expected.  
  
And then those two came.  
  
It was not shameful to say that, amongst the more faithful of the elderly, there were some that almost bent over to pray.  
  
And so, it was general opinion in Namimori that Halloween weakened the barriers between the worlds and two baby angels adorned in gold and gem came down to bless the town.  
  
(Unfortunately, there seemed to be a rule not to get close unwarranted. If you talked to, or stared too hard at the vulnerable angels without them deigning to ask for sweets from you, an assortment of random curses would befall you. They ranged from the random thug having an 'accident' with his most precious parts to the burning of a pervert. Nobody else tried their luck after the first five.)  
  
\---------/////---------  
  
Because obviously Momokyoukai couldn't keep away and _was that motherfucking asshole salivating towards Tsuna-sama?!_


	8. Court Conjurer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! You've gotten a new chapter! XD
> 
> I want to first aplogize for two things efore you start, I'm very sorry for the lack of reponses you got for your comments. There were also some very inspiring suggestions too! I read every single one of them and they make me very VERY happy, so don't ever think it's wasted. But it's been a hard week for me with exams and family problems and country problems so I havent written anything but humor and fluff the whole week. But that means you will all get a KHR one shot soon (shameless advertising.)
> 
> I'm also sorry for the lack of quality in this chapter, I just can't like it. Hopefully my RL will get better and I will get to uploading my other fics and upping this one's quality.
> 
> Anyways, I have bored you enough with my rambling, please enjoy ;D.

"GYAAHH!"

**BOOM**

"UWAAA—!"

**FOOOSH**

"Stop it! We've got the girl; you think you can burn us down when she'll also die with us?! Don't bluff!"

A man with the expensive burnt suit ranted, panting from the smoke coming from the licking flames. One of the men in front of him —the leader— glanced at the huffing man in contempt before taking out his phone and calling someone.

"Hello, Angel? Yeah. Yes, I know. Ah, right, is it fine to tell the enemy boss? Hm? What, of course not, we won. It's fine, Princess. Yeah, bye."

The leader hung up, and sneered at the burnt man.

"Well, I've got clearance." He declared, "Your little hostage is loong gone. She's already safe and sound with our boss. Do you really think we would have risked her?"

The enemy boss gaped before turning back and running towards where the hostage presumably had been.

The leader ignored the pathetic man and addressed the crowd of beaten yakuza;

"The Kyoujun-gumi is disbanded from now on. Either join the Momokyoukai or get the fuck out of our turf."

 

* * *

 

 

Nagi hugged her knees for comfort. It was cold here. And dark. Very dark.

She muffled a whine of frustration. It was never a good idea to attract attention while kidnapped. She spoke from experience.

But really, did it have to be so boring? There really wasn't anything to do in her small dark room except maybe jumping aimlessly on the equally small bed.

Nagi rolled her eyes at the ridiculous notion that would have had Mother in a screeching fit and ignored the waiving illusions of darkness around her with the ease of long earned habit.

She had quite the imagination as Mother would say, and while useful sometimes, it created just as many delusions as artworks.

Much like how the darkness seemed to suffocate her kidnappers and how it created otherworldly monstrosities edging about in her peripherical vision just begging to be realized from the shadows.

But that couldn't be true, right?

Right. So Nagi tried not to see the twisted creatures that were no doubt of her own mind’s creation, and pushed through the instinctual fear of the scary every four-year-old had, to realize that she was thoroughly bored, uncomfortable, and dearly needed to see some sunlight.

“Uuugh…” She groaned before sticking her head between her legs in an attempt at forgetting her boredom. Or _perhaps_ if she got bored _enough_ , even her boredom would go away searching for entertainment? Yep, that sounded perfectly possible.

And she was making quite the effort to make it come true.

The girl detachedly inspected her skirt for the lack of better ways to pass the time until whoever her father sent after her _this time_ arrived and she went back to her lessons, _all_ the way away in their house in Tokyo, just like all the other times. Now that Nagi thought about it, she got kidnapped quite often, didn’t she? But at least Father remembered that he had a daughter somewhere three towns away when she was “in danger”. (The sense of danger had dulled after the dozen or so kidnappings.)

Humph, she refuted to herself, she didn’t need Father to notice her. She had Mother anyways. Even if the woman was always angry and hated Nagi’s uselessness… and didn’t talk much to her… or take her to the park like other mothers did… or hug her like other mothers would…

Still. At least Mother was with her, unlike Father who worked all the time in Nami-something town. Humph, she thought again, let him work. Nagi was a grown girl now, she could take care of herself. And Mother loved her for sure, she was sure, yes she was.

Just as sure as she was that illusions were nothing but that, spectres of the mind.

Nagi ignored the wispy whispers of “denial”; they were products of her imagination, that was all. She was not denying anything at all.

 

* * *

 

 

“Did you know Tsu-kun,” Kyo-chan began cheerfully one lunch time in the Peach Yakuza base, “that every kingdom has a court magician?”

Tsuna glanced curiously at her, taking another bite from his sandwich. Mmm, delicious. He thought it over and yes, he might have seen a story with a magician that helped the prince.

“Since I’m a princess,” she continued with the endless conviction that only children could acquire, “and you’re my friend so you can be a prince, we need magicians. It won’t be a right kingdom without magicians. And so, I decided to find magicians for our kingdom.”

“Sorry Kyoko, just one moment, _‘our kingdom’_?” Hana interrupted after swallowing the last of her own sandwich, “What do you mean by ‘our kingdom’, we don’t _have_ a kingdom!”

The brunet giggled at her, not to be mean of course, but because Hana-chan was _always_ so serious. Tsuna was certain she would be horrible at playing house. Even though, apply your imagination a bit and there, they _did_ have a kingdom.

“Really, Hana-chan,” he whined when the raven-head kept glaring for an answer, “of _course_ we have a kingdom! Me and Kyo-chan are the prince and princess, you and Kyouya are the knights and Peachy Yakuza are soldiers!”

“I thought you didn’t want to conquer the world…” Hana tried weakly, earning furious pouts from both ‘royalty’.

““No!”” was their collective outburst before the ginger started to explain, “Villains conquer the world, Hana-chan! We’re heroes! It’s a happy kingdom that we made so it’s not conquering the world, it’s only helping it be better.”

“…” Hana-chan answered eloquently, “Right...”

“So, about these magicians,” Tsuna turned to Kyoko, starting their discussion on the possible whereabouts of magic, lunch forgotten on the table.

 

* * *

 

 

Nagi inspected her griffin made of rolled up blankets. Hmmm… Yeah, not bad, she only needed a pair of apples and her new friend would be perfect.

“Hello, Griffin-san. I’m Nagi, shall we be friends?” She asked him politely, being the well-mannered girl that she was. Even to griffins. And blankets. They had rights too!

“…” answered her blanket sculpture. Nagi nodded, translating griffin to human, that probably meant; ‘Yes, Nagi. Let’s be friends, I'm Griffin.’. She cheerfully shook his hand; this was her second friend after Mother had murdered Fairy the Pillow Case. The first was Mr. Fluff the Neighbourhood Cat. Mother couldn’t kill him without much rumour going around.

“Well, Griffin-san, I’m very pleased to meet you. It has been very boring so far in this small dark room.”

“…”

“Yes, I am aware that I’m wasting my efforts at not being crazy by talking to you.”

“…”

“What?! No! Of _course_ I won’t let Mother find this out.”

“…”

“No, it’s fine. Father’s men don’t tell Mother anything.”

“…”

“How do I know? You see, Griffin-san, I’ve been caught in worst states by them. It’s hard ignoring the boredom when you’re kidnapped.”

“…”

“Hmm, you might be–”

Nagi cut herself off at the hurried footsteps coming from outside her locked door. No need to look worse than she would by actually _talking_ to the blanket sculpture.

_“–and no word of me changing your cells okay? I didn’t do anything if someone asks.”_

_“Yes yes, we know!”_

The click of a turning key sounded out Nagi held her breath. This didn’t sound like Father’s men. Finally, the door opened with a dull thump.

“Hi! Are you Nagi-chan?”

Nagi was greeted not by her kidnappers, not by Father’s men, but three kids her age. _What?_

 

* * *

 

 

Hana closed the lid on her beloved spray of chloroform tightly. How nice of the hospital director to provide Kuroyama Hanako with “self-defence” tools. She then proceeded to drag the helpful man into their target’s cell.

“I am… And you are?..” Nagi asked, looking rightfully dumbfounded.

“I’m Kyoko! And this is Tsuna. And the one with the sleeping Yakuza is Hana-chan!” The ginger introduced excited. Hana scanned the room with her eyes while the three made acquaintance. Sharp-Eyes wasn’t with them, so detecting danger fell upon her shoulders. Not that she minded.

The three new friends collected around a heap of blanket shaped vaguely like an animal and started involving the unresponsive statue in their conversation. Yes, Hana decided, she definitely didn’t mind the lack of at least one more void of logic.

“We should go now.” She announced finally, after tightly tying the Yakuza up, “Or they’ll realize that something’s wrong.”

“Kay! We’re coming Hana-chan!” Cute Monkey answered, joining in on the tearful farewell the three did for the blanketal monstrosity. Hana tapped her feet in impatience and hoped that she would survive this ordeal just as she had somehow survived the previous ones.

Obviously, that meant that she had a headache the size of Namimori when they finally got out of the room.

“So, umm, how did you find me?” The ex-hostage asked quietly, almost inaudible over even their footsteps. The Cute Monkey turned towards her with a proud beam to narrate their latest accomplishment.

“You see, Nagi-chan,” he started, “We got caught, first. Then we said that we were looking for you, then they put us in a room. After that Kyo-chan and me asked the evil Yakuza there to take us to your room and he did! That’s how we found you! Ichirou-san didn’t want us to but we could do it easily!”

Hana shook her head from behind them and decided to explain to the confused girl.

“He means that they seduced the guard and deceived him to allow us in your room. Then I knocked him out and here we are.” She said.

“No we didn’t deceive and sevu- seuce- seduce him!” Kyoko protested but then seemed to waver in her rage, “Umm… Hana-chan… What does seduce mean?”

Oh… Oh. How was she supposed to explain _that_?!

“Erm… It means to… eeh… You’ll know when you’re older Kyoko.” Hana waved her off. She was _not_ doing this. Let the Sasagawas suffer in her place.

“But Hana-chan! You’re only two months older than us!” Tsuna pouted but Hana’s resolve was an unbendable sword. She wouldn’t make this conversation. She _wouldn’t_.

Now she only needed to preserve for the whole road to Nagi’s Father’s house.

_Great._

“Want to be our kingdom’s magician Nagi-chan?” Kyoko turned towards the dark-haired girl when the silence became too boring.

“Eh? What?” Nagi looked around for an explanation before apparently deeming Hana the most trustable source, “What does she mean, Hana-san?”

_Even better. TWO impossible explanations._

 

* * *

 

 

Kyoko wrinkled her nose as another sob shook the distasteful woman. It was stupid, she knew, not to mention _very_ evil, to be disgusted by the poor mother’s crying. But really, she couldn’t help it. The ginger could practically _feel_ how bothered Tsuna was of the woman.

How he felt that all the sobbing was a badly done role-play.

No, the brunet wouldn’t say it out loud; no need to sadden the genuinely worried father, but Kyoko _knew_. She always knew it when Tsuna felt something important. That _was_ what friends were for after all.

“Thank you all, thank you _so_ much, for your help.” The man said, looking haggard but thankful, “It was all my fault that my beautiful daughter got kidnapped, and now I have to go to a Yakuza group for help. How the mayor has fallen…”

“It’s alright, Hideyuki-san!” Tsuna smiled, “You can always count on Pea– (“Momokyoukai,” coughed Ichirou-san.) –Momokyoukai to help! We got Tokyo thanks to you anyways!”

Kyoko nodded cheerfully next to him, Peachy Yakuza had thrown a _huuge_ party for that. It was so much fun!

“What can I do to repay you, children? Both for your help and my doubts of your legitimacy. Anything you want, it’s yours. Just ask.” Nagi’s dad asked and the ginger had to hold back from sticking out her tongue at his wife. The woman paled when Mayor-san promised anything, right? She did, right?

Well, luckily for her, they weren’t going to ask for money. Stupid selfish evil woman. How did Nagi-chan even live with her?

“Then, we want Nagi-chan to be our _friend_!” Kyoko answered for all of them, knowing that Tsuna wanted the same as well. “And that she can come visit us a lot!”

“B-but, her lessons and house are all in Tokyo!” The ‘mother’ wailed to Hideyuki-san, “What would our friends _say_? She can’t possibly–”

“What do you think Nagi?” The man asked his yet silent child. Kyoko approved.

“I-I would, ummm…” Nagi-chan mumbled, getting more silent the closer she got to her parents, “I would like tovisitthemonceinawhile.”

“Alright then,” The man nodded, “You’ve got yourselves a deal.”

“And if we could just finalize that on paper Mr. Mayor.” Ichirou-san said, sitting himself in front of the table. “Weekly dates; in Namimori for Hideyuki-chan, or with Angel and Princess, with a few of Momokyoukai of course, visiting Tokyo. And call us if this ever happens again.”

“Done. I will, and likewise if you need anything,” Hideyuki-san winked, “make sure to call the Mayor.”

Tsuna and Kyoko cheered. Hana snorted. Nagi smiled.

(And Kyouya was still happily cleaning Tokyo up.)

 

* * *

 

 

The next week, Tsuna, Kyoko and Nagi were playing together in Namimori Parc with Kyouya basically being a wild skylark and watching them from a tree branch and Hana buying ice-cream for everyone when someone finally asked THE question.

“Tsuna.” Kyouya started in that emotionlessly curious way that was unique to him, “Is the new herbivore yours or Female-Herbivore’s?”

Neither Tsuna nor Kyoko eve lifted their heads up from the sandcastle they were making before answering;

“Mine.”

They both looked at each other and sparks started flying.

It was then that Hana made her unfortunate entrance, uttering the thought in everyone’s heads; “Oh dear god.”.


	9. Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .uuh... hello? Sorry for the delay... I'm really really sorry! TT^TT But still, here you go, chapter?  
>  I made it extra long just in apology! XD  
> Well, please enjoy!  
> EDIT: Wow, oops I accidentally pasted the chapter twice... But it's corrected now. I was in quite the haste posting this so there might probably be inconsistencies and errors so if you notice something wrong/something that doesn't make sense do tell me!  
> (BTW, Thank you BiancaoNero for telling me, and so fast too! XD)

"And then we went outside of the enemy kingdom, with our new magician too! And then Knight Kyou-kun said that our army won! But now Tsu-kun wants the magician for himself even though Nagi-chan's _mine_! He's so _unfair_..."

Masaki nodded in half-faked understanding to her daughter's rant; children were so cute, and their imaginations so wild.

Just yesterday Kyoko and Tsuna-kun had a Yakuza group under their command and last week, the brunet had found himself a "good monster who defeated enemies" as his "Hana-chan". And today it was a kingdom. With the mayor's daughter as it's magician.

Honestly.

With one last nod, Masaki decided to focus on the more contextual parts of their conversation.

"Kyoko, you should already know that your friends are _not_ your properties." The mother chided, "It's quite possible that Nagi-chan wants to be both of your friend and you should respect that. I taught you better than making your friend choose like this, young lady."

She had already noticed the way Tsuna-kun and Kyoko had made sides in their small group of four and she would make it known that She Did Not Approve. With capitals.

Her daughter pouted and shot her a faint look saying 'Shame on you for being stupid' that had Masaki both reflexively embarrassed and impressed.

"But _mom_ ~ She _can_ be our friend! She just can't be a _friend_ for both of us." The ginger explained, despite the fact that Masaki had absolutely no idea what the difference between ‘friend’ and ‘ _friend_ ’ was.

“Alright… As long as you share…” The mother muttered, inwardly berating her husband’s genes for passing on to both of her children, she couldn’t _possibly_ be the one they took after. Kyoko beamed at her before returning to her complaints on Tsuna-kun’s supposed selfishness.

 

* * *

 

 

Nagi lay on her stomach settled comfortably on the giant cushions that the Peachy Yakuza had put down in their office for them and happily drew. She drew about Griffin-san, Mr. Fluff and even Fairy the Pillow Case. Then she drew Tsuna and Kyoko. She even drew of their respective Hana-chans; Hana the Not Monkey and the Skylark-man.

As she put all her friends in various colours onto the paper, she thought about the Hana-chan and magician thing. It was weird because, thinking about it, why would Kyoko and Tsuna even want to create sides like this? They both liked both Hana-chans and Nagi thought that she was equally both of their friend so why not just make a _huge_ group of friends? It made _no_ sense.

But then, when she _didn’t_ think about it, when she just let things do their thing, the grouping became the most natural thing in the world. It became only too obvious that she should choose one of the two to stand next to, like, like…

Yes, like the supporters of a president or the advisors of a queen.

Maybe she could understand where the kingdom metaphor came from.

At least, she knew that the two heirs would never fight it out; this _was_ a co-ruled kingdom after all. It wouldn’t do harm no matter who she chose, Nagi wasn’t a particularly useful pawn, she was just wanted. A lot.

It flattered her more than just a little.

“Look, look Nagi-chan! I drew you a magic hat!”

“Well, _I_ drew you a magic wand!”

““Humph!””

Nagi giggled and decided that she would just let it choose naturally, whatever _it_ was, and still protect both her prince and princess. This _was_ the co-ruled kingdom of which she was the court witch after all.

 

* * *

 

 

Next Friday, Tsuna was diving through his wardrobe for the best possible outfit he could find. They were, for the first time, going to Nagi-chan’s house in Tokyo! Oh, he was so excited. Even Ichirou-san who had been so busy these days –because they just got the enemy kingdom that the man had been part of before (and also because he didn’t want to go home to his brothers, Tsuna thought)– promised to come with them in case remnants of the Kyoujun-gumi decided revenge.

Tsuna _knew_ it had been a great idea to make him the Commander of their Royal Army! He led the Peachy Yakuza –under the brunet and Kyoko, obviously– perfectly.

Oh, but he wished Hana-chan and Kyou-kun could come too. But Kyou-kun was still trying to avoid introducing Tsuna to his old friends and Hana-chan had decided to do something research something activities of the town. But at least Kyo-chan would be there.

Finally, he decided on his most formal dress shirt, the one he had worn in his Halloween costume, and black shorts. The brunet remembered that Masaki-san had matched these for a party. And he needed to be as proper as he could be, considering that they were going to meet _that_ woman.

She had such a _slimy_ feeling under her beauty.

Thank god Nagi-chan wasn’t too affected by it. That would have been too bad, the girl was _both_ cute and amazing.

“Tsu-kuunn! Come on down, your friends are here to take you to Tokyo!” Kaa-chan’s voice came from downstairs. Tsuna hurried to dress, a wide smile on his face; they were going to meet Nagi-chan again!

 

* * *

 

 

“We’re here for your daughter.”

Masaki stood blankly in front of her gates, unable to compute the scene right out of her nightmares. She wasn’t like the other women of the town, already gossiping about the “good Yakuza who righted their ways” like it was a movie or book. Oh _no_ , she knew it was to lure the people, a ruse to hide darker waters.

And she hadn’t missed the way Namimori was filled with the emblems of a peach tree, nor had she stopped noticing the Momokyoukai members that were _right there somewhere_ whenever she looked. Masaki knew that they were slowly being cornered in their own town.

But _this_ , this was plain her worst fears taken form. _Why_ would they want her precious little daughter?!

“There… There must be some mistake.” She tried, shaking her head, “There isn’t anything special about my daughter, you couldn’t possibly want her!”

The man that seemed to be the leader of the group of five in front of her threw a confused look at the mother, scratching his chin and stepping away from the black car with tinted glass.

“You’re Sasagawa Masaki, right?” He asked, continuing before she could answer, deny, _anything_ , “Then there’s no mistake, we’re here for Sasagawa Kyoko.”

“But-”

“Stop delaying and give us the girl, woman! If Aniki says it’s true, then it’s true!” One of the men -the scarred bald one- snapped, making Masaki recoil and the leader’s eyebrow twitch.

“Stop that! I’m trying to have a civilized conversation here.” He ordered, “And don’t forget who you’re shouting at!”

If Masaki had been paying attention she would have likely been confused at the last sentence, but she was far too focused on something else. Something that made her insides freeze. The door to her house had opened.

And Kyoko was outside.

“Kyoko, no! Don’t come here!” The mother yelled urgently, but much to her distress, her daughter just brightened up -likely at seeing the “interesting guests”, Masaki thought- and ran towards them.

The mother was caught off guard, used to Kyoko following her judgement, and wasn’t ready at all to catch the little ginger. Masaki expected fully, and despairingly, for her daughter to be grabbed by the Yakuza and to fight tooth and nail for her.

“Good morning, Princess!”

But she wasn’t ready for the impossibility unravelling before her eyes.

The Yakuza bowed 90 degrees before her daughter, greeting her respectfully. Kyoko giggled as if she was used to this treatment and curtseyed back in her short formal dress.

Masaki opened her mouth. Then closed it. _What?_

“Look mama! This is the Peachy Yakuza I told you about!” The ginger chirped at her, brightening when Tsuna-kun came out of the definitely expensive car.

Finally, the mother connected the dots. Only to wish that she hadn’t. 

The ‘Peachy Yakuza’ was _Momokyoukai_. The ‘kingdom’ actually _had_ an army. Hana-chan had _blackmailed_ Namimori Hospital into helping them. When Kyoko had said that Tsuna-kun’s ‘good monster’ ‘defeated the kingdom’s enemies’…

She actually meant that he _killed the enemy Yakuza_.

Masaki abruptly realized that she had entrusted her daughter to Nana-chan _. To_ _Nana-chan_.

And when Masaki actually regained some of her equilibrium, her daughter had long said goodbye and hopped into the car. She looked blankly after the already moving car and decided that Kyoko had come home for all this time when Nana-chan had taken her but when the ginger had no doubt ended up with her Yakuza, so there was no reason for her to be in danger this time either.

And Masaki had important things to do.

She practically ran inside the house before grabbing her phone from the kitchen counter. Someone, _someone rational_ , had to hear about this before she freaked herself out to death and it obviously wouldn’t be Nana-chan. Because there was absolutely _no way_ that her long-time friend would share her shock; the brunette took things in nothing _but_ strides.

The phone rang, and _rang_ before finally, a click sounded.

_“Hello, Ma-chan?”_

“Kurokawa-san, I–”

_“Mou, Ma-chan, didn’t I tell you to call me Kazue? You’re being mean.”_

“Kurokawa-san,” Masaki repeated stubbornly to the sigh coming from the other side, “I need to talk to you, face to face, _right now_. It’s about Kyoko and Hana-chan and their friends. And if you can find something about Tsuna-kun’s, that’s Kyoko’s brunet friend, male friend on the way–”

_“Hibari Kyouya?”_ The man asked seriously after hearing that the urgent conversation was about his daughter, accompanied by sounds of wardrobes opening, _“I got my wife search him, he’s the black-haired boy that came with Kyo-chan to get Ha-chan right? Should I call the Hibaris as well?”_

“The Hibaris?”

_“Yes, they are apparently a pretty normal couple.”_ Kurokawa-san answered distractedly, paper rustling on his side, _“And Hibari-kun seems a very silent boy, much like Ha-chan, I don’t really think they know anything. At least not anything that would make you this nervous, Ma-chan.”_

“Okay then, call them.” Masaki agreed, this was something every parent should know, “And I might…. –Just might, mind you, we don’t need the additional crazy– call Nana-chan. Because if you ignore the ditzy-ness and naivete, she knows pretty much everything going on in Namimori.”

_“Like Ha-chan,”_ The father laughed before the sound of a door closing came, _“I'm calling Hibari Tsukiko, found her number in my wife’s notes, and we’ll hopefully be there in a few minutes.”_

“Okay,” Masaki breathed out, “Okay.”

And she sat down with a glass of water after hanging up, feeling more up to facing reality. Kurokawa Kazue was an easy-going man, always very calm, but he was thorough. And he loved Hana-chan more than anything. They had exchanged numbers after meeting through their daughters’ friendship and hit it off pretty well.

_Thank god_ they had, Masaki needed someone to freak out with.

 

* * *

 

 

Nagi sat delicately on the couch, sipping her tea slowly and minding her manners because Mother’s secret spie- erm, servants, were everywhere in the mansion, no doubt discreetly watching them. But even regulating the angle her knee rested at became fun with her royal friends, so it was fine really. Much better than before.

“Soo… What do we play now?” Tsuna asked cheerfully, somehow also looking just as disappointed while poking the bruschetta. The two were sweet-tooths to the bitter end (yay, irony) and wouldn’t eat tea-time-snacks unless they were sweet enough. Apparently, the salty food reminded them of lunch, or something.

“How about…” Kyoko started throwing the snacks a contemplative look, “How about we, dramatic pause,” (“You shouldn’t actually _say_ that, Kyo-chan.”) “ _we_ , _dramatic pause_ , bake a cake!”

The ginger glared at her male friend and beamed at Nagi, but the girl wasn’t convinced. It was, to be honest, _very compelling_ to grant Kyoko what she wanted, but then there was also Mother to consider. And the fact that Nagi hadn’t ever set foot in the kitchen, which also tied to Mother. Or the question about whether the cooks would even let them in. Which _also_ tied to Mother.

Yes, Mother was rather _against_ ladies doing menial jobs.

Nagi noticed from the corner of her vision her two friends exchange glances before…

_‘Critical hit! Critical hit!’_

She was swiftly defeated by their combined attack.

Oh, the almighty puppy-eyes, Nagi bowed before their might. Baking a cake it was.

At least Mother was away socializing and wouldn’t catch them.

 

* * *

 

 

Until she _did_ and the happy visit went completely downhill that is.

“WHAT IS THIS MESS?!” Mother shrieked, “WHAT HAVE YOU _DONE_?!”

Nagi averted her eyes from the dripping dough and the flour that covered _everything_ , while Tsuna hid his sticky hands and Kyoko held the sleeve of the daughter’s dress in support.

The cake hadn’t… gone as well as they had expected.

“YOU STUPID GIRL, UNGRATEFUL LITTLE-!” scolded Mother, making frustrated growls at the back of her throat in a decidedly un-ladylike way, not that _Nagi_ was going to mention that.

“I-it wasn’t…” She mumbled instead, trying to muster her courage; _‘Come on Nagi. This isn’t the time. For Tsuna and Kyoko. For my Prince and Princess.’_

“It wasn’t their faults!” She squeaked finally, “I suggested it!”

“N-No, it was my idea,” Kyoko interrupted in a rush, “It honestly was, please don’t punish them, I asked Nagi to bake a cake!”

“Kyoko, Nagi, no, what are you doing?!” Tsuna asked obviously dramatically, “It was me, you two don’t have to take my place! You shouldn’t lie even to save me!”

And Nagi… Well, how could she say anything now? She was already tearing up.

But sadly, Mother didn’t seem to be too affected by this emotional show of unconditional support between friends. If anything, the woman was starting to look madder by the second. Nagi imagined in some small part of her brain –one that wasn’t trembling in fear– that her mother might start frothing and drop dead from anger.

It didn’t happen, evidently.

Mother started screaming words that didn’t make very much sense to Nagi, at least not without context, and even mentioned a few phrases which, according to Ichirou-san, ‘weren’t very suitable for a young lady’s mouth, even if you heard the Yakuza use it.’. Mother’s currently dead sense of grace and integrity would have cringed in disgust had it been, well, _not dead_. That was kind of inexplicably and ironically funny actually.

But then Mother raised her hands in rage _and it wasn’t funny,_ _it wasn’t funny in the least anymore_.

Because Nagi didn’t know what the woman meant to do; pray to god, rip her own hair out, make herself look scarier, but the girl had seen her do the exact same movement before and…

And she threw herself in front of Kyoko and raised her arms, one in front of Tsuna, feeling as if it wasn’t just her fear for her friends but instead an inferno of resolve making her move.

“NO!” Nagi shouted with all her might and she wasn’t letting Mother through no matter what, even if she died on the spot, because no one was going to strike her precious Princess nor her Prince.

Never. _Never_.

So when the Magician recognized the formless shadows rushing at Mother, forming ghosts and demons and horrible monsters, all she could feel was relief. She stood still for a minute before her unconscious mother. Nagi then grabbed both of her friends, dragging them to the relative safety of her room.

 

* * *

 

 

“That was great, Nagi-chan.” Kyoko congratulated her, words cheerful but tone solemn, “Your first magic.”

“Thank you…” Nagi responded, tiredly sitting on her canopy bed and noticing the brunet still standing before her closed and locked door. She looked around in askance but got no response from Tsuna and only a sad head-shake from the ginger.

“Tsu-Tsuna..?” The Magician muttered silently, thinking rapidly; what if he was afraid of her magic? What if Tsuna hated her now? What if he didn’t want to be her friend anymore?

“Uuu…” was her illegible answer. Even Kyoko seemed to be of no use from where she had situated herself next to an out-of-the-way wall.

Nagi decidedly collected the remaining courage from her left-over resolve and slowly approached Tsuna. However, unexpectedly, she got an armful of brunet instead of an answer.

“N-Nagi-chaaan…” The boy cried, hugging her tightly as if she would run away. “I want _you_ to be my _friend_! _I_ want you! _Why_?”

“‘Why’? Wh-what?” Nagi asked back, feeling very much out of the loop.

“N-no.” Tsuna sniffed, “It’s okay… I won’t make my friend sad *sniffle* just for choosing. You became Kyoko’s _friend_ , right?”

“I… chose?” Nagi repeated uncertainly, understanding somewhat, “Like the Hana-chan-Magician thing? But! But I didn’t say _anything_!”

“You don’t _have_ to…” The brunet explained while trying to wipe his still-flowing tears, “You protected Kyo-chan, you protected me _too_ but it was Kyo-chan you wanted.”

“Th-That doesn’t mean anything!” She protested unusually fiercely, “She just seemed more… umm… like she needed my defence, at the time!”

“Uuuu…” Tsuna wailed on Nagi’s shoulder, “You don’t have to keep reminding me… So mean…”

“Wh-Whaa…” She started asking, but was not able to resist tearing up herself. She couldn’t _understand_. She _felt_ like she _might_ but she _didn’t_. “You… You won’t be my friend anymore?”

“No, of course I will!” The brunet answered determinedly. The Magician felt distractedly that there was another person joining their hug in tears, but Kyoko just smiled and stayed quiet.

“Th-Then,” Nagi promised, knowing that nothing would change her mind, “then I’ll protect you too! I’ll protect both my Prince _and_ Princess!”

“You can’t do that!” Tsuna refused, but he sounded unsure himself.

“I can.”

“B-but…”

“I think she can, Tsu-kun.” Kyoko reassured, squeezing them both. “No! I’m sure she can, since she’s my _friend_ , but _we’re_ also your _friends_.”

Tsuna teared up a little more, they all did; crying was infective at their age, but Nagi believed with all her hearth that it was because of happiness.

“O-Okay.”


	10. Contumacious Children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, Im SO sorry for all this delay. I dont even remember when I last updated, a month ago? two months? But no matter, Im very very sorry for making you all wait. Honestly, you guys were never out of my mind while RL made a very valiant effort to crush me down. And it was rereading my comments that got me back to finishing this chapter.
> 
> Warning; this chapter was only half edited, so any mistakes you see, comment them if you want to! :) nd I really apologise that the chapter I got out so late doesnt have much action. This is mostly a reaction chapter, so...
> 
> Also, special mention to one of my earliest commentors; they told me that I couldnt tell them that a Harmonized Sky wasn't the "scariest motherfucking thing.". Well, I wont be telling them anything to that effect. Because it would be a lie. And with those ominous words; you may now start the chapter. XD

 

“Ma-chan! We’re here!” The black-haired lean man that had invited them, Kurokawa-san, shouted at the front door of Sasagawa-san while Kyoshi stood behind with his wife, trying to hide his insecurity.

Honestly speaking, the man wasn’t even sure of why they were there, or why Tsukiko had decided that they should talk about Kyouya to some random strangers. Random strangers who knew of their names and child and even phone number.

This was dangerous. Possibly fatal even, considering Kyouya’s _activities_.

“Welcome,” A young ginger woman greeted them, opening the door. At least, Kyoshi thought, she looked just as uncertain as he felt.

“Thank you for inviting us.” He responded, purely out of courtesy. He wasn’t feeling particularly grateful at all; this meeting was making him nervous.

“Yes, we will be imposing on you,” His wife greeted as well, looking far more cheerful, and even slightly smug, “I'm Kyouya’s mother, Hibari Tsukiko, and this is Hibari Kyoshi. Very nice to meet you all.”

Why would she be so smug? He really understood Tsukiko less and less these days. First it was her constant stalking of their son, her insistence that they follow this Kurokawa-san to learn about Kyouya’s friends and then her theory that Kyouya had a friend he was _listening_ to.

Kyouya. Listening to someone. _Kyouya_.

He did not even _need_ to comment.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” Kurokawa-san smiled, subtly ushering them all to the living-room and to the couches. If one didn’t know, they would think him the host. “Once again, I’m Kurokawa Kazue, Hana’s father.”

The woman also smiled, though it came out a little pale, and nodded at them all while Kurokawa-san presumably went out to make tea.

“And I'm Sasagawa Masaki, Kyoko’s mother,” she introduced, like everyone else had done, despite the fact that the Hibaris had absolutely no idea who ‘Hana’ or ‘Kyoko’ were. “I apologize for making you two come so hurriedly like this but I learned some very… Erm, _distressing_ , facts about all our children.”

With the way she had phrased it, well, Kyoshi could _feel_ himself paling. He could easily see all sorts of horrible scenarios that could take off from that single sentence: being judged because Kyouya was a carnivore, going to jail because Kyouya was a carnivore, being murdered by a vengeful lover because Kyouya was a carnivore…

God, they should have become vegetarians before it was too late.

“What kind of _distressing_ facts, Sasagawa-san?” Tsukiko took over, thankfully, seeing as Kyoshi was too busy contemplating their fast-approaching demise.

“Yes, Ma-chan,” Kurokawa-san piped in, putting a cup of tea in front of everyone, “what kind of facts?”

“Yes, well,” The Sasagawa mother hesitated, drinking a little to calm herself, “are you aware of the Momokyoukai? The Yakuza group that has taken Namimori under complete control? You must have at least noticed the peach tree symbols, they’re everywhere.”

“Hn, we know.” Kyoshi answered, wondering where the woman was going with the talk of the group monopolizing Namimori, his superiors at Organized Crime were killing themselves over it. Could… Could Kyouya have angered them? God, he hoped not. That would finally be their end…

“The,” Sasagawa-san started, “the thing is… I suspect- no, I have ample reason to believe that Kyoko and Tsuna-kun are leading it. Or at least they are very _very_ near the top.”

**Clank.**

Kurokawa-san, absolutely gracefully mind you, dropped his tea cup in shock. Kyoshi, on the other hand, was still waiting for the real bomb to be dropped, had they noticed that Kyouya was a murderer or not? And, really, who _were_ ‘Kyoko and Tsuna’ anyway?

“I-I knew she wasn’t telling me everything…” The Kurokawa father murmured, “I knew those stories had something bigger behind them… But Momokyoukai?  Are you certain, Ma-chan? How could Ha-chan hide this?”

Kyoshi couldn’t help it, he snorted into his teacup, “Not telling you everything? Try having your child not tell you _anything_. You’re lucky you get at least _something_.”

Kurokawa-san looked mildly furious at that, but as far as Kyoshi knew the man looked everything mildly, so it could safely be assumed that he had hit some nerve. Even though it was just light teasing…

“Of _course_ , you Hibaris wouldn’t know anything.” The other man smiled saccharinely, “After all, _why_ would a parent spend effort to create an environment where their child can grow happily? _Preposterous_. I must be the only father stupid enough.”

“Why don’t _you_ see how it feels like to suddenly be at the mercy of your own five-year-old son, huh?” Kyoshi gritted, what was wrong with _this_ man? Suddenly starting to insult their parenting skills.

“I don’t _need_ to see.” Kurokawa hissed, “I know _perfectly_ well how it feels to know that your little child can get you exiled out of the country for a few too harsh words. But _I_ also know how to help grow and earn respect from said child.”

“We’re _trying_ okay!” Tsukiko snarled, “We’re trying.”

“Okay, okay! Stop that!” Sasagawa-san ordered, breaking the steadily growing argument, “We don’t need any more problems than we already have. This fight is meaningless; I'm sure Hibari-san didn’t mean to insult, Kurokawa-san, and since everyone’s in such similar conditions, you can certainly exchange tips with each other.”

At Tsukiko’s rapidly brightening gaze, and _really Tsukiko? You were ready to throttle the man just seconds prior_ , Sasagawa-san amended with a hasty:

“Later, of course.”

Kyoshi settled back into his armchair, thinking;

_Today will be an exhausting day, won’t it?_

* * *

 

 

After two more hours of introducing Kyoko, Tsuna and Hana to the couple, arguing on whether two children could actually somehow own a huge Yakuza group (because _really_?) and keeping the two fathers from violently and messily murdering each other, Masaki was at the end of her rope.

Not to mention the effort they all took to avoid the subject of all the illegal and immoral activities their children had to have been participating in if this was all true.

The Hibaris were especially resolute on that front.

And just when Masaki was ready to storm a specific house for a specific person who just wouldn’t come, (and where was she?! They needed Nana-chan and all the answers she would bring!) the doorbell rang. _Finally_.

The ginger was going to destroy something (or someone) if it was a door-to-door salesman.

“Masakii∼ Open the door, please∼” Came the voice, and Masaki breathed out a sigh of relief. Nana-chan.

Though, apparently, it wasn’t just Nana-chan, as Masaki realized when she opened the door.

“Hi, Masaki-san!” A puffy eyed but still cheerful Tsuna-kun beamed. The ginger looked at him, then at the brunette and sighed.

“Why is he here Nana-chan? We’re talking something serious.” She said tiredly. Nana-chan also gave her a beam, one rivalling the little brunet’s, before answering.

“Oh, well, you see; I was just getting ready to come over here when Tsu-kun’s friends brought him back. And imagine how shocked I was, little Tsu-kun came to me crying! Even after he went to Nagi-chan so giddily!” The brunette gave a dramatic little gasp, “Nagi-chan decided, Tsu-kun told me, to become Kyo-chan’s _friend_! So as Kyo-chan and Nagi-chan are commiserating their friendship, my thoughtful son came home to give them space. And so, I gave him hugs and a hot chocolate before calling Kyou-kun because I’m good at consoling but Kyou-kun is the _best_ at motivating and clearly—”

“Stop!” Masaki interrupted, “I got it, okay? Please just come in. I didn’t understand a _thing_ from that huge deadly word bubble, and I have _no_ plans ever to.”

“Okay, Masaki!” Nana-chan nodded, going right into the living room past the ginger, Tsuna skipping after her. Masaki sighed and turned to the ceiling, hoping that her wishes would go through it and up to heaven for a fast realization.

It didn’t work. Was her ceilings wish-proof or something?

“I’m Sawada Nana, everyone, nice to meet you all!” Her friend introduced herself, before pointing to the waving child, “And this is Tsunayoshi, or Tsu-kun; he’s my adorable son.”

Masaki could see, as she settled back into her couch, that the Hibaris were looking _very_ uncertain to meet the supposedly-Yakuza-boss but also how-is-he-even-this-cute-and-with-dimples-and-meter-long-eyelashes. _The Hibaris’ thoughts, not hers_.

“Hn, nice to meet you.” Kyoshi-san greeted briefly as usual. Tsuna-kun tilted his head, looked at the couple in confusion and;

“’Hn’? But isn’t that…” He mumbled, but then suddenly grinned twice as bright as before, “You’re Kyou-kun’s family! Oh, it’s so amazing to meet you!”

Well, Masaki thought, at least someone could see a resemblance. Because the woman was honestly stumped as to how the silent monster could even be related to the normal, if of few words, man. And the less said about the ‘resemblance’ between Miss. Hibari and the devil the better.

Really, that boy was only slightly better than Hana-chan. _Slightly_. And only because Masaki would _never_ forget how the girl got her to sign a contract ensuring some way or another that she sell her humanity should Masaki ever stop the she-devil and her daughter from meeting.

“K-Kyou-kun?” Hibari-san mumbled, looking completely and utterly incomprehensive, “As in Kyouya?”

“Yep, Yep!” The boy chirped happily before huffing in thought, “Why do people _always_ ask the same thing?”

“They always ask you whether you know Hibari-kun?” Kurokawa-san interrupted; completely composed now that they weren’t talking about her daughter anymore.

“Yeah! Ichi-san also asked the same when we met!” Tsuna nodded, “Oh, but he didn’t say Kyouya, he said the nickname, does that make a difference?”

“The nickname?” Masaki asked, feeling a shudder of trepidation go up her spine.

“The cute one!” The brunet giggled, “Red-Back Deserter. It’s such an adorable nickname, isn’t it? A lot of the Peachy Yakuza only joined because of that! It’s so funny how scared they are of Kyouya.”

The stunned silence in the room was only interrupted by the boy’s excited chatter. Red-Back Deserter… It was a name they heard in the news, on the paper, _everywhere_.

No one would have believed them if they said that the most renown Yakuza mass murderer of the decade was six-year-old child.

Masaki stole a glance at the Hibaris. They looked freaked out and somewhat resigned, and that relieved the ginger a little bit. She wasn’t alone in this madness.

“And that’s why we decided to get Peachy Yakuza.” Tsuna concluded, not noticing that they had completely missed the story, “So now we have our own kingdom!”

“Wait, what?” The Hibari mother asked distractedly, likely still trying to compute the fact that ‘Red-Back Deserter = her son’.

“Like I _said…_ ” The brunet pouted, “Kyo-chan didn’t want Kyou-kun to kill so much, so we decided to make the bad Yakuza be good. So Kyou-kun got me Peachy Yakuza, and they were so small before!, and we let the bad Yakuza join them to help us! So now we have our kingdom!”

Kyoko? Masaki thought. Kyoko knew about this all?! The sweet, pure girl that she had raised was friends with a mass murderer? Even forgetting that, her little daughter was actually leading such criminals and even letting people get killed…

It was very very hard for the woman to ignore her hopes that her girl was being deceived and tricked into this, because as much as she wished so, the truth was evident from the daughter’s stories. She was making the decisions, together with Tsuna-kun, through and through.

“So, you were the one who he guards…” Tsukiko muttered, before she grinned wildly (and all Masaki could think was ‘Damn, there the resemblance is.’), “Forget about that Tsu-kun, you said that that son of ours got Momokyoukai for you. Tell me, does Kyouya listen to you?”

“Eehh? Yeah most of the times, since he’s my Hana-chan after all. But sometimes he just can’t stop finishing the bad men. Really that Kyou-kun,” Tsuna sighed fondly, “he likes fighting so much.”

Another silence. No wonder too; the parents had much difficulty understanding the ease with which the boy talked about killing men.

“You don’t mind it?” Masaki couldn’t help ask disbelievingly; this little boy, she knew, would be terrified if he saw a little blood. What had happened to him? “You don’t care that your friend is a monster? You don’t care that you’re endangering Kyoko like this?”

And maybe she had been a little harsh, forgotten that she was talking to a five-year-old. But Masaki was angry, angry at this boy who had dragged her innocent little daughter into his insane world, angry at Nana-chan who she believed to be a friend, angry at herself for dismissing Kyoko’s stories as childish nonsense.

So, she tried to ignore the glares coming from the Hibari family and the stormy aura around Nana while waiting for Tsuna-kun’s reply. It might have been a bad idea in hindsight, her immature name-calling that is, she decided when the little (harmless, cute, petite, _scary_ ) boy’s eyes started glowing with angry embers.

“My friend isn’t a monster, Masaki-san.” He said, tone deceptively quiet and light, “He is a knight. He fights to protect our town _from_ the monsters. He fights to protect us, _me_. You should think more about who you insult, Masaki-san.”

The woman could see something that she hoped wasn’t hatred burning behind his chocolate orbs. And thinking back to the amount of power both this brunet and her daughter held… Yes, she really hoped that that fire wasn’t hatred.

Huh, she was kind of starting to understand the Hibaris’ feelings.

“And why should she, Sawada-kun?” Kurokawa-san asked daringly, “Why shouldn’t we just take this knowledge and get Hibari-kun arrested? Minor or not, his crimes are more than enough for a life sentence.”

Was it Masaki or was the temperature rising? Still ignoring the vicious glares coming from the Hibari couple, she gazed around the room. Nana-chan was, likely because her son was already capably defending himself, serenely drinking her tea. Kurokawa-san was gauging the boy’s increasingly angry reaction.

And Tsuna-kun… Tsuna-kun was just smiling; closed eyes, cheerful aura, dimples and all. Masaki had honestly never ever seen something so horrifying before.

“Oh, you can’t do that.” He declared brightly, “Hana-chan already thought about it before you.”

The father faltered at the mention of the grumpy girl. Such a doting parent really, not to mention that the man might lose whatever respect he had scraped up for himself should he interfere with her.

“The herbivore can’t do what?”

Oh god, the absolute _last_ person they needed for this conversation.

And, Masaki thought, Tsuna-kun suddenly wasn’t any more terrifying than he had been when she was dressing him in a skirt. Which meant a level of scary up to ‘Aww how adorable, he thinks he’s glaring’. Really, not much.

“Kyouyaaa∼” The boy cried, jumping into the little monster’s arms in a hug, “It’s a horrible day! I don’t have a Magician and now Kaa-chan’s friends are bullying me!”

They weren’t really bullying him?... Were they? But thinking back on their talk… Well, it _could_ be interpreted that way…

“Ho?” The raven-head muttered.

Masaki cringed when Kyouya’s death glare swept through the room as the boy tightened his arms around Tsuna. The boy seemed to hesitate only at noticing his parents sitting with the ‘bullying adults’ looking very ashamed indeed. But then the anger only intensified.

“Yeah! They want to throw you into jail!” Tsuna-kun pouted at Kyouya, completely ignoring all the others in the room. The raven-head’s eyes immediately turned towards his parents, who were opening their mouths in protest, but then he smirked, slow and predatory. He patted the brunet’s back getting the boy to sit back on the armchair, settling himself on its arm.

“To throw me into jail?” He sneered, the effect _somehow_ not diminishing by the little boy grabbing the hem of his shirt, “You herbivores are not capable. I'm officially a yakuza. No, I'm _the_ Yakuza of this province. Gang wars won’t be enough to condemn me. Not to mention the men I have, the men in the police. In the government.”

“Oh!” the brunet next to him brightened, “And Hideyuki-san promised to help, right? Nagi-chan might be Kyoko-chan’s friend but Kyo-chan won’t stand for my Hana-chan being bullied! So, we can ask Nagi-chan’s papa like that!”

There were one too many names in that one declaration for Masaki to fully understand, but from what she could gather, Tsuna-kun meant to get help from Nagi-chan’s father who…

Wait.

Wasn’t Nagi-chan’s father, in Kyoko’s ‘stories’, the...

“‘Hideyuki-san’… Hideyuki Kaito?” Kurokawa-san asked, disbelief evident in his voice, “ _The_ _MAYOR_?”

“Yep. He owes me and Kyo-chan a favour.”

The collective silence was apparently enough of an answer for Kyouya if his smug look down at them was any indication.

 

* * *

 

 

Two hours later, even after Kyou-kun decided enough was enough and dragged the exhausted Tsu-kun home, Nana was relegated to watching the other parents bicker back and forth. It was… weird, to be the more sensible one in a conversation. But really if they kept on running in metaphorical circles around the subject, Nana would be forced to interfere.

“But it’s dangerous, not to mention irresponsible and immoral of us! We can’t just condone our _five-year-olds_ to a life of crime!” Masaki-chan pointed out sensibly, _for the eighth time_.

“Six.” Coughed Kyoshi-san, sparking the fifteenth argument over how ‘thoughtless, useless, insensible so and so comments' were 'derailing the argument to unnecessary directions'.

Nana rolled her eyes, put back her empty cup with a little more force than necessary, and every face in the room was turned towards her in a second.

“There’s no need to fight, everyone!” She beamed, because everyone needed a little bit of smiling in their lives, “Tsu-kun is the happiest he’s ever been in his life, Kyo-chan clearly won’t let go of her friends, ever, Hana-chan loves her with a fierceness worthy of tigresses and Kyou-kun just wants to keep Tsu-kun happy. And they are all working to save the world! Who cares if their older friends, who all adore them I might add, fight a little too much?”

“But Sawada-san—” Tsukiko-san started, only to be interrupted by Kazue-san.

“No, she… She makes sense.” He agreed with a wry smile, “And even if she didn’t, what could we do? Nothing. We couldn’t do anything because we have the four most powerful children in the world. Maybe it’s new for you people, but let me tell you, Hana-chan has always been mostly autonomous. This isn’t that much different, she just has more immediate man-power under her fingertips. And the best way to deal with something like this; is to not deal with this at all.”

Nana smiled approvingly at him, as Kazue-san stretched and got up, looking at the clock.

“It’s six o’clock.” He announced serenely, “Hana-chan told me she would be home by seven, so I'm going back home to cook. I don’t know about everyone here, but I will be supporting my precious daughter in her life, as long as it makes her happy, no matter what. Well then, Sawada-san, Hibari-san, Hibari-san,” he nodded, “Ma-chan. See you all later.”

Nana also got up after the man, because Kyou-kun and Tsu-kun were home and she should also make them dinner. Oh, unless that blond friend of theirs got to it before her, that is. He made a mean lasagne.

“Bye everyone!” She waved, grabbing her jacket.

Hopefully, she thought, by the time they talked again, Masaki-chan would have gotten over her shock. Maybe she didn’t show it, but Nana really didn’t like having her friend on one side and her son on the other. Even if her choice was all too obvious.

 


End file.
